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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: track · shower · wave · bass · leaves · cold · cue · tear

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — for pool
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. shower — to wash
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bass — low music
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. shower — rain

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