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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 · rash · file · bound · coach · stem · ground · tube

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. tube — the underground
  3. ground — a position
  4. file — a tool
  5. bound — obliged
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. ground — the earth
  9. shower — rain
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bound — tied together
  12. ground — crushed
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bound — certain
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a document
  22. shower — to wash
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. tube — a container

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