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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: nail · tube · mug · swing · chip · shower · kid · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. kid — to tease
  3. swing — music
  4. mug — to rob
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kid — child
  7. chip — to eat
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. swing — to play on
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. swing — in golf
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. chip — for betting
  14. tube — the underground
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. present — the time now
  18. shower — rain
  19. tube — a container
  20. mug — a face
  21. present — a gift
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mug — a cup
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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