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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: spring · chest · rash · jam · wound · bowl · shower · stick

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rash — a series
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. spring — the season
  14. chest — a box
  15. shower — rain
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. jam — in traffic

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