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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: toast · pitcher · rash · band · ground · game · shower · file

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. file — a tool
  3. band — a music group
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. rash — a series
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. toast — bread
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. shower — rain
  12. game — a match
  13. file — a document
  14. ground — the earth
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ground — crushed
  18. band — a ring
  19. ground — a position
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. shower — to wash
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. rash — hasty

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