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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fine — high quality
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. spring — of water
  10. shower — rain
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spring — the season
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fine — all right
  24. tube — a container

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