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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: toast · tube · mark · branch · suit · shower · kid · lie

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. shower — rain
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. suit — to fit
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — to wash
  8. tube — the underground
  9. toast — bread
  10. suit — clothes
  11. suit — in cards
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. branch — a division
  17. mark — a trace
  18. tube — a container
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. mark — a grade
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. branch — of a tree

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