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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 120 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. bear — the animal
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. tube — the underground
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mine — for digging
  10. plane — a tool
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bear — the animal
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. clip — a video
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. shower — to wash
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. clip — for paper

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