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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 120 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: drill · ground · shower · fall · fan · face · degree · nail

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. degree — an amount
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. face — part of the head
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fall — the season
  15. face — to confront
  16. degree — from a university
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fall — to drop
  19. degree — temperature
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. ground — a position
  23. face — to point toward
  24. ground — the earth

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