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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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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: band · calf · cell · tube · scale · foot · cap · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cap — of ice
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. shower — rain
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cell — a phone
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. band — a music group
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. band — a ring
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. scale — in music
  17. foot — a measure
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cell — in biology
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cell — in a prison

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