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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: object · rush · wound · shower · stick · tube · cold · pitcher

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. rush — hurry
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. object — a thing
  14. wound — an injury
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — to protest
  17. tube — a container
  18. shower — rain
  19. tube — the underground
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. pitcher — a jug

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