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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: cue · dip · toast · mine · shower · bound · hand · file

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bound — tied together
  4. hand — help
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cue — a signal
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. toast — bread
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cue — for pool
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. shower — rain
  17. cue — a hint
  18. file — a document
  19. shower — to wash
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. file — a tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. file — a line of people

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