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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 120 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 · straw · wound · cue · tube · present · band · season

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cue — a signal
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. season — in sport
  5. present — the time now
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. band — a music group
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. present — there
  13. tube — the underground
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wound — an injury
  17. present — a gift
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. cue — a hint
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tube — a container
  24. cue — for pool

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