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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 116 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: face · shower · tube · ground · staff · present · scale · rule

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. staff — a stick
  3. tube — a container
  4. face — to confront
  5. scale — in music
  6. staff — employees
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. shower — to wash
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rule — a law
  11. ground — a position
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. face — part of the head
  16. staff — employees
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now
  19. shower — rain
  20. ground — crushed
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. face — to point toward
  23. tube — the underground
  24. scale — size or range

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