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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 116 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: drill · bat · tear · season · hide · cell · tube · shower

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. season — in sport
  4. drill — a practice
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cell — a phone
  8. tear — to rip
  9. drill — army training
  10. bat — the animal
  11. season — of the year
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tube — a container
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tube — the underground
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. cell — in biology
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bat — in an idiom

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