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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: field · shower · fine · snap · ball · roll · capital · face

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. face — to point toward
  3. ball — a dance
  4. face — to confront
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. fine — high quality
  7. shower — to wash
  8. snap — to click
  9. face — part of the head
  10. capital — a city
  11. fine — all right
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. capital — money
  15. field — a subject
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — a list
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. ball — a great time
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. shower — rain

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