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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: shower · game · chest · branch · dip · foot · face · pound

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chest — a box
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. face — to confront
  6. chest — of your body
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. foot — a measure
  9. branch — a division
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pound — a weight
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. face — to point toward
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. game — a match
  17. shower — rain
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. chest — of your body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. face — part of the head

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