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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 116 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: content · shower · current · bay · tube · racket · band · spell

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spell — a short time
  5. current — of water
  6. tube — the underground
  7. band — a ring
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. band — a music group
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. content — the amount
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. spell — magic
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. tube — a container
  18. shower — rain
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. current — electric
  21. spell — letters
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. current — happening now
  24. shower — to wash

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