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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: staff · cold · can · tube · cell · bulb · shower · press

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cell — in biology
  3. can — a tin
  4. staff — employees
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bulb — for light
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cold — not warm
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bulb — for light
  11. press — to push
  12. tube — a container
  13. staff — employees
  14. shower — rain
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tube — the underground
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. can — to be able to
  22. staff — a stick
  23. can — a tin
  24. cell — in a prison

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