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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: object · band · shower · racket · rush · cabinet · cold · dip

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. dip — to sink
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cold — an illness
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — an aim
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. shower — rain
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. object — to protest
  20. band — a music group
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. shower — to wash
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. band — a ring

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