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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.

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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: shower · calf · cabinet · bass · club · rule · wound · current

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bass — the fish
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rule — government
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. club — for golf
  11. wound — an injury
  12. club — a group
  13. wound — an injury
  14. current — electric
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. current — happening now
  18. bass — low music
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rule — a law
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. current — of water
  24. shower — rain

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