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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · land · cap · rest · tube · mug · shower · hide

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. shower — to wash
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cap — a hat
  6. land — a country
  7. shower — rain
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cap — of ice
  10. land — to come down
  11. rest — a break
  12. mug — to rob
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. land — ground
  15. tube — a container
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. mug — a face
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cap — a lid
  22. rest — what's left
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mug — a cup

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