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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: key · shower · wake · ruler · wind · chest

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — a trail
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. key — the most important part
  5. wind — moving air
  6. key — for a lock
  7. chest — of your body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. shower — rain
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. key — in music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chest — a box

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