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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: cold · nail · tube · drill · present · mouse · shower · perch

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. drill — a practice
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. present — there
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. drill — army training
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tube — a container
  18. present — a gift
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cold — an illness
  21. drill — the tool
  22. shower — rain
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. present — the time now

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