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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: drill · tube · rest · band · land · mug · shower · season

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. season — in sport
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rest — a break
  7. shower — to wash
  8. season — of the year
  9. band — a ring
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. rest — what's left
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. tube — the underground
  16. drill — army training
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. tube — a container
  19. shower — rain
  20. rest — what's left
  21. drill — a practice
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mug — a face
  24. band — a music group

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