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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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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: wound · hand · band · mate · pitcher · shower · lie · wake

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wake — a trail
  5. mate — a friend
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. band — a ring
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hand — help
  18. shower — to wash
  19. lie — to recline
  20. band — a music group
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. shower — rain
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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