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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: stand · shower · bat · tube · dip · season · saw · last

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. last — finally
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. season — in sport
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. tube — the underground
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. shower — rain
  16. last — to go on
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. shower — to wash
  20. tube — a container
  21. saw — the tool
  22. last — final
  23. season — of the year
  24. stand — to bear

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