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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: cabinet · drill · wound · cap · craft · face · tear · shower

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. craft — boats
  3. face — to confront
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. drill — a practice
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cap — of ice
  13. tear — to rip
  14. drill — army training
  15. face — part of the head
  16. tear — from crying
  17. craft — a skill
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cap — a lid
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — to wash

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