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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: present · shower · bear · tube · hand · rash · season · stand

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. tube — the underground
  3. present — the time now
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. season — of the year
  8. present — a gift
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. shower — rain
  13. hand — in cards
  14. season — in sport
  15. tube — a container
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stand — to bear
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rash — a series
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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