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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · content · shower · bank · pass · wound · face · scale

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. scale — in music
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. face — to confront
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bank — for money
  16. scale — size or range
  17. content — happy
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — rain
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pass — a permit
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com