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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 · staff · rule · stand · fan · shower · tear · squash

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. staff — employees
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. staff — employees
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. tear — to rip
  12. stand — to bear
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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