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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: kick · shower · bass · stem · file · bowl · fall · cabinet

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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. shower — to wash
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. shower — rain
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. file — a tool
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. file — a document
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. fall — to drop
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. kick — in football
  22. fall — the season
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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