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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. shower — rain
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. pass — a permit
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — the amount
  21. bat — the animal
  22. shower — to wash
  23. tube — a container
  24. band — a ring

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