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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: wake · cabinet · tube · ground · shower · drill · can · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. drill — the tool
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. drill — army training
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. shower — rain
  9. ground — the earth
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. drill — a practice
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ground — a position
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. can — a tin
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. wake — a trail

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