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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: mark · field · wave · shower · tube · toast · tear · hand

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mark — a trace
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. toast — bread
  14. tube — a container
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. field — farmland
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. shower — rain
  23. field — a subject
  24. hand — help

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