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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: tube · shower · spring · race · chip · can · wake · scale

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chip — for betting
  3. can — a tin
  4. spring — a coil
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wake — a trail
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. chip — to eat
  11. spring — of water
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. scale — in music
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. spring — the season
  18. scale — size or range
  19. can — to be able to
  20. shower — rain
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. can — a tin
  23. race — a contest
  24. tube — a container

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