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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: staff · wake · cold · shower · cap · current · ruler · bowl

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. current — of water
  9. shower — rain
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. current — electric
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cap — a hat
  17. current — happening now
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wake — a trail
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cold — the Cold War

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