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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 120 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: band · cabinet · mark · shower · racket · tear · suit · cold

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. mark — a trace
  3. shower — to wash
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. tear — to rip
  6. shower — rain
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cold — not warm
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. suit — clothes
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. band — a music group
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cold — an illness
  24. band — a ring

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