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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ground · straw · wake · saw · shower · cabinet · stick · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. tube — the underground
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — a position
  13. shower — to wash
  14. ground — the earth
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. tube — a container
  24. wake — a trail

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