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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: wound · cabinet · can · arm · field · tear · shower · ground

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. shower — rain
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. ground — a position
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. can — a tin
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ground — the earth
  12. field — for sport
  13. can — a tin
  14. field — a subject
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. can — to be able to
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — farmland
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. shower — to wash
  24. tear — from crying

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