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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'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. game — a match
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. drill — army training
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bank — of a river
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tube — the underground
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. file — a document
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. drill — the tool
  18. game — wild animals
  19. tube — a container
  20. file — a tool
  21. bank — for money
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pass — a permit
  24. drill — a practice

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