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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: can · shower · pop · mark · court · drill · tube · scale

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. drill — army training
  6. shower — to wash
  7. tube — the underground
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. court — of law
  10. pop — soda
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. shower — rain
  13. mark — a trace
  14. pop — to visit
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pop — music
  20. court — of a king
  21. mark — a grade
  22. can — a tin
  23. court — for sport
  24. scale — size or range

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