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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. band — a music group
  3. shower — to wash
  4. perch — the fish
  5. row — to paddle
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. kick — in football
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. shower — rain
  15. band — a ring
  16. row — a line
  17. object — an aim
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. row — a quarrel

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