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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.

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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: staff · tube · ruler · track · date · shower · cold · fan

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. staff — employees
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. cold — not warm
  4. date — the fruit
  5. track — a song
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. shower — to wash
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. shower — rain
  13. track — to keep track
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tube — the underground
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. track — a path
  23. tube — a container
  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