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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: object · spring · mouse · cabinet · hand · pound · kid · shower

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. hand — help
  3. spring — the season
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. kid — child
  10. spring — a coil
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. kid — to tease
  14. object — a thing
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. object — to protest
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. spring — of water
  20. shower — rain
  21. object — an aim
  22. pound — a weight
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pound — to hit hard

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