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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
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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 · club · cell · chip · ball · wound · rash · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. club — for golf
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rash — a series
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — for betting
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. tube — the underground
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a dance
  16. club — for dancing
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. rash — hasty
  19. club — a group
  20. shower — rain
  21. cell — in biology
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. tube — a container
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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