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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 · bear · kid · fan · leaves · cell · rash · toast

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bear — the animal
  13. shower — rain
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. rash — a series
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cell — in biology
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. kid — child
  24. fan — a supporter

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