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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 120 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: field · tube · temple · squash · cabinet · wake · shower · kid

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. field — a subject
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. shower — rain
  6. tube — the underground
  7. field — for sport
  8. squash — the sport
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. field — farmland
  11. kid — child
  12. squash — to crush
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wake — a trail
  15. shower — to wash
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tube — a container
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. tube — in a tire

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