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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mouse · rash · shower · leaves · cold · staff · tube · spell

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. spell — a short time
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. staff — employees
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. spell — magic
  10. tube — a container
  11. cold — not warm
  12. shower — rain
  13. spell — letters
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. shower — to wash
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rash — a series

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