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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: band · hand · shower · roll · bay · tube · racket · fan

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. hand — help
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. shower — rain
  5. roll — a list
  6. tube — a container
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. band — a music group
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. tube — the underground
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. band — a ring
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fan — to cool the air

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