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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: tube · shower · lie · kick · date · perch · mate · spell

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spell — letters
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. mate — to breed
  7. tube — the underground
  8. perch — the fish
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mate — a friend
  11. kick — in football
  12. spell — a short time
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mate — a partner
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. spell — magic
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. shower — rain

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