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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: tube · shower · current · pound · pit · hand · temple · fall

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. hand — help
  3. current — happening now
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pound — a weight
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tube — a container
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. shower — rain
  14. current — of water
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. tube — the underground
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. shower — to wash
  23. current — electric
  24. pit — in a race

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