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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: cabinet · shower · patient · saw · tube · game · last · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tube — a container
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. game — wild animals
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. saw — the tool
  17. press — to push
  18. last — final
  19. saw — the tool
  20. last — finally
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. last — to go on

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