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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · shower · rule · tube · press · tear

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. press — to push
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. tear — from crying
  9. craft — a skill
  10. shower — rain
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rule — a law
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rule — government
  15. craft — boats
  16. tear — to rip
  17. shower — to wash
  18. press — newspapers

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