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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: staff · bear · shower · cell · cold · board · fan · cap

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. staff — employees
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. board — a committee
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bear — the animal
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cell — a phone
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cap — of ice
  15. shower — rain
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. staff — a stick
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. board — to get on

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