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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: track · rest · fan · tube · kid · cell · game · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rest — a break
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. track — a path
  8. rest — what's left
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cell — in biology
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. tube — the underground
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. track — to keep track
  17. kid — to tease
  18. game — a match
  19. tube — a container
  20. track — a song
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kid — child
  23. shower — to wash
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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