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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.

Make a worksheet

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: net · shower · leaves · game · cap · chest · lash · drill

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. chest — of your body
  3. game — a match
  4. net — in sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. drill — the tool
  8. net — after costs
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chest — a box
  13. net — for catching
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. drill — army training
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cap — of ice
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. drill — a practice

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