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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: rock · fine · shower · snap · face · land · band · charge

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. snap — to click
  5. band — a ring
  6. fine — all right
  7. land — to come down
  8. shower — to wash
  9. land — ground
  10. rock — a stone
  11. charge — a price
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. charge — electricity
  14. rock — music
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. band — a music group
  17. land — a country
  18. shower — rain
  19. face — part of the head
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. fine — high quality
  22. charge — in control
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rock — to move gently

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