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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: wound · file · shower · can · hand · mate · rush · fall

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. mate — a friend
  6. rush — hurry
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. file — a document
  14. mate — to breed
  15. can — a tin
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wound — an injury
  18. hand — help
  19. file — a line of people
  20. hand — in cards
  21. file — a tool
  22. mate — a partner
  23. shower — rain
  24. fall — the season

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