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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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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: content · shower · toast · net · tube · bowl · drill · fall

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. shower — rain
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. drill — a practice
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. net — for catching
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. shower — to wash
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. tube — a container
  15. content — the amount
  16. fall — to drop
  17. drill — army training
  18. fall — the season
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. net — in sport
  22. content — happy
  23. toast — bread
  24. drill — the tool

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