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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: face · kid · bulb · pitcher · tear · current · shower · season

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. tear — from crying
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — to tease
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. current — electric
  10. bulb — for light
  11. current — happening now
  12. face — to confront
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. tear — from crying
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. kid — child
  21. season — in sport
  22. bulb — for light
  23. current — of water
  24. pitcher — a jug

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