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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · shower · tear · tube · scale · march · rule · trunk

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rule — a law
  5. tube — a container
  6. march — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. scale — in music
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — size or range
  15. tube — the underground
  16. march — the month
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. rule — government
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — rain

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