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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 · cell · cap · spring · fall · fan · band · firm

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. firm — a company
  3. band — a music group
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. firm — steady
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fall — the season
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cap — a lid
  13. spring — of water
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spring — the season
  18. shower — to wash
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fall — to drop
  21. firm — decided
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cap — a hat

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