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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · fall · field · cabinet · tear · saw · face · dip

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. saw — the tool
  3. dip — to sink
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. fall — to drop
  10. face — part of the head
  11. field — a subject
  12. bass — low music
  13. field — farmland
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. saw — the tool
  18. field — for sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. face — to confront
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. fall — the season

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