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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: track · stand · tube · perch · spring · current · pop · shower

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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 — in a tire
  2. perch — the fish
  3. current — electric
  4. tube — a container
  5. track — a path
  6. pop — music
  7. spring — of water
  8. pop — soda
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. tube — the underground
  11. track — to keep track
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pop — to visit
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. current — happening now
  17. spring — the season
  18. shower — to wash
  19. spring — a coil
  20. track — a song
  21. current — of water
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. perch — for a bird
  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