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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bulb — for light
  3. tube — a container
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pop — soda
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bat — the animal
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. pop — to visit
  15. tube — the underground
  16. shower — rain
  17. last — final
  18. pop — music
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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