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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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. club — for dancing
  5. cold — not warm
  6. game — wild animals
  7. club — a group
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cap — a hat
  11. club — for golf
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. game — a match
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cap — of ice
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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