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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: shower · tube · staff · pop · jam · scale · spring · field

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. spring — a coil
  4. staff — employees
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. scale — size or range
  7. field — farmland
  8. tube — the underground
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pop — to visit
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. spring — of water
  19. scale — in music
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — the season
  24. tube — a container

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