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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wake · date · shower · rock · band · coach · kid · bowl

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. date — the fruit
  4. rock — music
  5. kid — to tease
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. band — a ring
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. band — a music group
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wake — a trail
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rock — a stone

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