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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: shower · jam · leaves · fall · cold · craft · hand · racket

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. craft — a skill
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. hand — help
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — an illness
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. craft — boats
  14. fall — the season
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fall — to drop
  19. hand — in cards
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. fall — to drop

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