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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: hide · shower · tube · bark · charge · chest · kick · squash

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. tube — in a tire
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. charge — electricity
  4. chest — a box
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. squash — the sport
  8. charge — in control
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. squash — to crush
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chest — of your body
  15. shower — rain
  16. kick — in football
  17. tube — the underground
  18. charge — a price
  19. tube — a container
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bark — of a tree
  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