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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: wind · tube · fan · bark · pass · coach · shower · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — a match
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. shower — rain
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. tube — a container
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pass — a permit
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. coach — a trainer

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