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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: shower · stock · content · press · tube · patient · foot · drill

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. press — a publisher
  4. foot — a measure
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. stock — goods
  7. drill — the tool
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. tube — a container
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. drill — a practice
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. stock — shares
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. tube — the underground
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. drill — army training

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