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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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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: ground · roll · saw · fine · shower · wake · mate · chest

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. wake — a trail
  4. shower — rain
  5. roll — a list
  6. mate — a friend
  7. roll — a cake
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. fine — all right
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fine — high quality
  16. chest — a box
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mate — a partner
  19. ground — a position
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ground — crushed
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. ground — the earth
  24. chest — of your body

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