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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: staff · shower · club · land · fork · mouse · cold · craft

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. staff — a stick
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. staff — employees
  5. land — ground
  6. shower — rain
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fork — in a road
  10. land — a country
  11. staff — employees
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. club — for dancing
  17. land — to come down
  18. club — for golf
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. craft — boats
  21. club — a group
  22. cold — not warm
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — a handicraft

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