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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 · race · roll · tube · fan · march · bear · court

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. court — for sport
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bear — the animal
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bear — the animal
  7. march — the month
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. tube — a container
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — a list
  14. court — of a king
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. race — the arms race
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. race — humankind
  21. march — the month
  22. race — a contest
  23. court — of law
  24. march — music

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