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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.

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: face · field · can · cabinet · fall · shower · racket · lash

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — to wash
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. field — a subject
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. fall — to drop
  13. can — a tin
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. field — farmland
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. field — for sport
  19. face — to point toward
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. shower — rain
  24. can — to be able to

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