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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · lash · bat · cabinet · tube · tear · chair · shower

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. tube — a container
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. tear — from crying
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. chair — a professorship

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