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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: mouse · mate · leaves · bark · tube · bore · last · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  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. shower — to wash
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. last — final
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. last — finally
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. last — to go on
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. tube — a container
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. mate — to breed
  18. tube — the underground
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. shower — rain
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. bore — to tire
  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