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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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 · bass · cold · drill · shower · mug · stick · date

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. tube — the underground
  6. mug — a cup
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bass — the fish
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. mug — to rob
  17. date — the fruit
  18. mug — a face
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. drill — army training
  21. tube — a container
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bass — low music

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