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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 · bark · shower · hand · drill · chair · tube · toast

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. hand — help
  8. shower — rain
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. drill — a practice
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. toast — bread
  17. shower — to wash
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tube — a container
  23. hand — in cards
  24. drill — army training

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