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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: tube · court · fan · cap · bank · shower · wound · race

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bank — for money
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cap — a hat
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bank — for money
  11. shower — rain
  12. court — for sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cap — of ice
  18. shower — to wash
  19. court — of a king
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bank — of a river
  23. court — of law
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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