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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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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 · scale · wound · firm · shower · bat · snap · mine

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. snap — to click
  12. shower — rain
  13. firm — steady
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. tube — the underground
  20. firm — a company
  21. shower — to wash
  22. tube — a container
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. firm — decided

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