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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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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: sharp · shower · cold · ball · firm · mark · field · cabinet

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. mark — a grade
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. sharp — clever
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. field — farmland
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. firm — decided
  11. shower — rain
  12. cold — an illness
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mark — a trace
  15. field — a subject
  16. firm — steady
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. field — for sport
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cold — the Cold War

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