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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: shower · bay · lean · sharp · tube · club · fall · wound

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. tube — a container
  3. fall — to drop
  4. shower — rain
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lean — thin
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wound — an injury
  14. club — for golf
  15. tube — the underground
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lean — to bend
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. sharp — exactly

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