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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: shower · band · scale · club · clip · tube · face · bulb

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. tube — a container
  6. club — a group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. tube — the underground
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. club — for golf
  14. bulb — for light
  15. face — to confront
  16. bulb — for light
  17. club — for dancing
  18. clip — for paper
  19. band — a music group
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. clip — a video
  22. face — part of the head
  23. band — a ring
  24. clip — to cut

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