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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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. shower — rain
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bound — obliged
  6. hand — help
  7. fork — in a road
  8. hand — in cards
  9. spring — of water
  10. tube — a container
  11. row — a line
  12. bound — certain
  13. spring — the season
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pass — a permit
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bound — tied together
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pass — to spend time

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