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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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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: pound · board · tube · pit · cap · cold · rock · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. tube — a container
  3. board — a committee
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — music
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — the underground
  11. board — to get on
  12. cap — a hat
  13. pit — a hole
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — a weight
  19. rock — a stone
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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