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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: tube · swing · spring · shower · pitch · mouse · leaves · bound

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. tube — a container
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. shower — rain
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pitch — completely
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. spring — of water
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bound — tied together
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. swing — in golf
  16. spring — the season
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — certain
  21. swing — music
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. leaves — lets stay
  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