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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: cabinet · cold · pass · root · face · arm · lash · field

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. face — to point toward
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. field — a subject
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. root — the cause
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. root — of a word
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pass — a permit
  16. face — part of the head
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. face — to confront
  19. root — of a plant
  20. field — for sport
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. field — farmland
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. arm — a part of something

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