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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: last · cap · track · saw · straw · wave · shower · cabinet

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cap — a lid
  4. track — a path
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cap — a hat
  12. track — a song
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. last — finally
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. shower — rain
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. track — to keep track
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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