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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 120 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: wind · shower · rush · pit · tube · plane · sharp · club

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pit — a hole
  10. club — for golf
  11. plane — a tool
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pit — in a race
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. tube — a container
  19. sharp — clever
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. club — a group
  23. rush — hurry
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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