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

Word bank: shower · capital · tube · tear · mug · pound · last · stick

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mug — to rob
  4. tear — from crying
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. capital — a city
  7. shower — rain
  8. mug — a face
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. tear — to rip
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pound — a weight
  18. tear — from crying
  19. last — final
  20. shower — to wash
  21. mug — a cup
  22. tube — a container
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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