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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: shower · can · straw · spring · tube · cabinet · cell · sharp

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. tube — a container
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. can — a tin
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cell — in biology
  10. spring — the season
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. shower — rain
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. spring — a coil
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. spring — of water
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cell — a phone
  22. shower — to wash
  23. sharp — clever
  24. can — a tin

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