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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. shower — rain
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. game — a match
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. ball — a great time
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. stand — to bear
  12. ball — a dance
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. tube — a container
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. game — wild animals

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