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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: degree · tube · straw · shower · wave · cold · firm · hand

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. firm — decided
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. firm — steady
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. hand — help
  15. tube — the underground
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. firm — a company
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. degree — temperature
  20. hand — in cards
  21. degree — from a university
  22. shower — rain
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wave — of the sea

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