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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: file · rest · shower · foot · band · snap · tube · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. snap — to click
  4. shower — rain
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rest — what's left
  8. band — a music group
  9. tube — a container
  10. rest — what's left
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. file — a document
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. band — a ring
  18. rest — a break
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. foot — a measure
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. shower — to wash
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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