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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: cold · straw · dip · ball · cap · craft · shower · rule

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. shower — rain
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rule — government
  6. cap — a lid
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rule — a law
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. dip — to sink
  11. craft — boats
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cap — of ice
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ball — a dance
  21. craft — a skill
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. dip — a sauce

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