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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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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: cell · hand · tube · lie · shower · bark

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cell — in biology
  6. shower — rain
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. lie — to recline
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. hand — help
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tube — a container

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