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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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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: chair · march · shower · tube · stick · nail · club · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. club — for golf
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. club — for dancing
  8. tube — a container
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. tube — the underground
  15. shower — rain
  16. chair — a leader
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. march — the month
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. club — a group

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