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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. tube — a container
  3. band — a ring
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. season — of the year
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. sharp — clever
  17. tube — the underground
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. rash — hasty
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. rash — a series

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