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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: shower · coach · wave · bulb · field · dip · straw · tube

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. shower — rain
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. shower — to wash
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. field — farmland
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. tube — the underground
  18. field — for sport
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. tube — a container

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