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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: bear · hand · spring · face · ball · shower · track · root

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. spring — of water
  3. root — of a word
  4. hand — in cards
  5. track — to keep track
  6. hand — help
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bear — the animal
  9. ball — a dance
  10. shower — to wash
  11. root — the cause
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. face — to confront
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. root — of a plant
  16. shower — rain
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ball — a great time
  20. track — a song
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. face — part of the head
  24. track — a path

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