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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: fall · pit · net · scale · cabinet · shower · kid · straw

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. kid — child
  3. fall — to drop
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pit — in a race
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fall — to drop
  11. scale — size or range
  12. shower — rain
  13. pit — a hole
  14. kid — to tease
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. shower — to wash
  18. scale — in music
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. fall — the season
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. net — after costs
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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