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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: tube · race · bore · craft · leaves · shower · present · date

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. tube — the underground
  3. craft — a skill
  4. race — a contest
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. race — humankind
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. present — there
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tube — a container
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. shower — rain
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bore — to tire
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. present — the time now
  19. shower — to wash
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bore — to drill
  23. present — a gift
  24. date — on the calendar

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