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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: fall · cold · current · shower · chair · pop · rest · tube

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. tube — a container
  3. pop — soda
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rest — what's left
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chair — a leader
  9. current — electric
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pop — music
  14. shower — to wash
  15. rest — a break
  16. shower — rain
  17. tube — the underground
  18. fall — the season
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. cold — not warm

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