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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 120 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 · club · bat · dip · hide · bark · shower · tube

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. shower — to wash
  3. tube — the underground
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. club — for dancing
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. club — for golf
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. tube — a container
  13. bark — to shout
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. shower — rain
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. club — a group
  22. bat — the animal
  23. dip — to sink
  24. present — the time now

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