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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 120 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: cabinet · mate · chair · rash · row · shower · pop · key

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. key — in music
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mate — a partner
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — music
  14. mate — to breed
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. row — a line
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. shower — rain
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mate — a friend
  23. chair — a leader
  24. row — to paddle

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