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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. band — a music group
  3. fine — high quality
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. tube — a container
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. band — a ring
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fine — all right
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. row — a line
  22. shower — rain
  23. row — to paddle
  24. tube — the underground

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