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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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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: cold · nail · toast · cabinet · chip · shower · row · wake

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wake — a trail
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cold — not warm
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. toast — bread
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cold — an illness
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. shower — rain
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cabinet — ministers

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