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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: sharp · bowl · tube · kid · plane · shower · press · straw

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. press — to push
  4. tube — a container
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. shower — rain
  8. sharp — clever
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. kid — child
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. shower — to wash
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. tube — the underground
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. plane — a tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. kid — to tease
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. press — newspapers
  24. plane — in geometry

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