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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. shower — to wash
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rule — government
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rule — a law
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. snap — to click
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. 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