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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: tube · shower · toast · mug · sharp · bank · clip · chip

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. shower — rain
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. tube — a container
  6. shower — to wash
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. mug — a face
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chip — to eat
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. bank — for money
  14. mug — a cup
  15. bank — of a river
  16. clip — a video
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bank — for money
  19. sharp — clever
  20. clip — to cut
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. clip — for paper

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