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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 · tube · face · content · clip · stand · present · date

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. face — to confront
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. face — to point toward
  6. present — the time now
  7. tube — a container
  8. clip — a video
  9. content — happy
  10. shower — rain
  11. face — part of the head
  12. tube — the underground
  13. clip — for paper
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. present — there
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stand — to bear
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. clip — to cut
  21. content — the amount
  22. present — a gift
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stand — for spectators

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