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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.

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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: rock · mine · face · mate · shower · net · race · spell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. net — in sport
  5. face — to point toward
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. shower — to wash
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. race — a contest
  12. spell — letters
  13. rock — music
  14. shower — rain
  15. spell — magic
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. mate — to breed
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mate — a partner
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. face — to confront
  24. mate — a friend

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