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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 116 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: cabinet · pit · shower · race · bowl · hand · band · board

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pit — a hole
  4. board — a committee
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. board — to get on
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. race — humankind
  10. hand — help
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. race — a contest
  14. hand — in cards
  15. band — a music group
  16. race — the arms race
  17. shower — rain
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. band — a ring
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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