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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: march · dip · track · hide · tube · shower · kick · rush

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rush — hurry
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. march — the month
  14. dip — to sink
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. shower — to wash
  17. march — the month
  18. kick — in football
  19. march — music
  20. tube — a container
  21. shower — rain
  22. track — a path
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. kick — a thrill

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