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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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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: face · shower · band · pitcher · file · pit · root · rule

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. band — a ring
  6. shower — rain
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pit — a hole
  11. root — the cause
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. band — a music group
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. rule — government
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. root — of a word
  21. shower — to wash
  22. face — to point toward
  23. file — a tool
  24. band — a rubber band

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