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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 · swing · shower · bowl · drill · toast · capital · date

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. tube — a container
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. swing — to play on
  5. toast — bread
  6. drill — the tool
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. shower — to wash
  14. swing — music
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. date — the fruit
  19. drill — a practice
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. swing — in golf
  22. drill — army training
  23. tube — the underground
  24. capital — a big letter

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