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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: march · shower · foot · rash · nail · fan · tube · file

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rash — hasty
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. foot — a measure
  17. march — music
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rash — a series
  20. march — the month
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. march — the month
  23. file — a tool
  24. shower — rain

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