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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 120 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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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 · squash · racket · stick · content · tube · bay · cold

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. shower — rain
  6. tube — the underground
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. content — the amount
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. content — happy
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tube — a container
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. squash — the sport
  24. shower — to wash

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