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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: tube · current · net · kid · object · wake · shower · mine

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. net — after costs
  6. object — a thing
  7. current — happening now
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. wake — a trail
  11. object — an aim
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. current — of water
  16. current — electric
  17. kid — child
  18. tube — a container
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. tube — the underground
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mine — an explosive

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