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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. band — a ring
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rash — a series
  6. band — a music group
  7. shower — rain
  8. capital — money
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. drill — the tool
  11. tube — a container
  12. drill — army training
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. capital — a city
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pop — music
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. drill — a practice
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pop — soda
  21. rash — hasty
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pop — to visit

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