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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: content · toast · nail · shower · kid · tube · swing · club

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. content — happy
  3. kid — to tease
  4. toast — bread
  5. swing — in golf
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. club — for dancing
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. club — a group
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. club — for golf
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. swing — music
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. content — the amount
  19. kid — child
  20. shower — rain
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. shower — to wash
  24. content — videos and posts

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