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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 116 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: race · cabinet · cold · staff · wake · trunk · cell · shower

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. staff — employees
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. race — the arms race
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cold — an illness
  11. race — humankind
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. race — a contest
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. staff — employees
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cabinet — ministers

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