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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: kick · wake · rash · face · mine · shower · foot · net

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. shower — rain
  7. foot — a measure
  8. face — part of the head
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rash — hasty
  11. net — for catching
  12. shower — to wash
  13. net — in sport
  14. rash — a series
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. net — after costs
  21. face — to confront
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mine — an explosive

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