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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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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: cell · kid · pitcher · fall · wave · shower · band · staff

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. band — a music group
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. staff — employees
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fall — the season
  13. staff — a stick
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. kid — child
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cell — in biology
  20. staff — employees
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. band — a ring
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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