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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: rush · fall · shower · season · band · wave · tube · mine

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. shower — rain
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. rush — hurry
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. mine — for digging
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tube — a container
  19. band — a music group
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. shower — to wash

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