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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. drill — the tool
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. firm — steady
  5. kid — to tease
  6. field — farmland
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. drill — army training
  9. rule — government
  10. drill — a practice
  11. firm — a company
  12. tube — the underground
  13. field — for sport
  14. tube — a container
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. field — a subject
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. firm — decided
  23. shower — rain
  24. kid — child

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