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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: clip · net · cap · pop · wake · shower · saw · cell

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cap — a lid
  4. pop — to visit
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cap — a hat
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — rain
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. pop — music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cap — of ice
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. net — after costs
  22. pop — soda
  23. net — for catching
  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