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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: foot · band · field · shower · face · rule · bound · mark

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a grade
  5. field — farmland
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — a law
  9. mark — a trace
  10. field — a subject
  11. face — to point toward
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. field — for sport
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. band — a ring
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bound — certain
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — the bottom
  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