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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 · rash · bowl · deal · season · stem · fall · shower

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fall — the season
  3. season — in sport
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. season — of the year
  10. shower — to wash
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — part of the head
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. fall — to drop
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. face — to point toward
  19. rash — a series
  20. deal — to handle
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. rash — hasty
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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