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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 116 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: tear · cell · wave · club · scale · shower

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. scale — in music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. club — for golf
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cell — in biology
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. club — for dancing
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. club — a group
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. tear — to rip

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