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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 116 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 · tube · leaves · prune · file · ball · bore · present

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. tube — a container
  3. bore — to tire
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. tube — the underground
  9. ball — a dance
  10. present — there
  11. file — a document
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. present — a gift
  16. file — a tool
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. prune — to trim
  19. present — the time now
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ball — a great time
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. file — a line of people

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