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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: lean · tube · fan · game · bat · mug · rest · shower

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. rest — what's left
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. tube — the underground
  9. lean — thin
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mug — to rob
  12. rest — what's left
  13. shower — rain
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mug — a cup
  19. tube — a container
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rest — a break
  23. game — a match
  24. lean — to bend

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