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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: chair · face · cabinet · tear · net · wound · shower · fine

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. face — to confront
  11. fine — high quality
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. net — for catching
  15. wound — an injury
  16. shower — rain
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fine — all right
  19. net — in sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. shower — to wash
  24. net — after costs

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