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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. last — final
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. shower — rain
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. tube — the underground
  16. branch — a division
  17. last — finally
  18. tube — a container
  19. last — to go on
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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