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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: land · coach · cue · spring · can · saw · shower · fall

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a signal
  4. can — to be able to
  5. saw — the tool
  6. shower — to wash
  7. can — a tin
  8. fall — to drop
  9. shower — rain
  10. cue — a hint
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. land — a country
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fall — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fall — to drop
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. land — to come down
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. can — a tin
  24. spring — the season

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