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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: cabinet · shower · bowl · roll · cap · mate · wind · snap

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cap — a hat
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cap — a lid
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. roll — a cake
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cap — of ice
  16. wind — moving air
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. snap — to click
  21. roll — a list
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. mate — to breed

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