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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. present — a gift
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. field — farmland
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. present — there
  11. band — a ring
  12. sharp — clever
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. shower — rain
  15. tube — a container
  16. field — a subject
  17. tube — the underground
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. field — for sport
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. present — the time now
  22. shower — to wash
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a music group

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