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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. shower — rain
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. squash — to crush
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bound — certain
  7. tube — a container
  8. squash — the sport
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bore — to tire
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. fine — all right
  14. shower — to wash
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fine — high quality
  18. spring — the season
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bore — to drill
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bound — obliged
  23. spring — of water
  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