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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: rock · rash · face · kid · ground · arm · chest · shower

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rock — music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. chest — a box
  6. face — part of the head
  7. shower — rain
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. ground — a position
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. face — to point toward
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kid — to tease
  20. face — to confront
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rash — a series

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