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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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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: drill · shower · cold · saw · dip · sharp · cabinet · bear

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bear — the animal
  5. dip — to sink
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. shower — rain
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. sharp — clever
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. shower — to wash
  22. drill — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cold — an illness

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