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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. shower — rain
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bore — to tire
  6. march — music
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. land — to come down
  9. tube — a container
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. bore — to drill
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — high quality
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. tube — the underground
  21. land — ground
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. shower — to wash
  24. land — a country

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