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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 · tube · hide · wave · file · leaves · cap · racket

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cap — a hat
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. tube — a container
  7. shower — rain
  8. file — a document
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. file — a tool
  14. cap — of ice
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wave — of the sea
  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