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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 116 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 · trunk · cell · ball · pitch · cabinet · race · row

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ball — a great time
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. race — a contest
  10. pitch — completely
  11. race — humankind
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cell — in biology
  14. race — the arms race
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. row — a line
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cabinet — ministers

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