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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: club · fan · toast · pound · shower · content · tube · root

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. club — a group
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. content — happy
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tube — the underground
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pound — a weight
  14. tube — a container
  15. toast — bread
  16. root — the cause
  17. shower — rain
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. content — the amount
  20. root — of a word
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. root — of a plant

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