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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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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: cold · straw · shower · rest · track · tube · stand · tear

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cold — an illness
  4. track — a song
  5. rest — a break
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. track — a path
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — rain
  14. stand — to bear
  15. shower — to wash
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tube — a container
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rest — what's left
  23. tube — the underground
  24. cold — not warm

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