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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chest — of your body
  3. roll — a list
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. chest — of your body
  7. shower — rain
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. roll — a cake
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. fall — to drop
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chest — a box
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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