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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: bore · row · shower · wake · bulb · mouse · spring · hand

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bulb — for light
  3. hand — help
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bore — to drill
  7. shower — rain
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bore — to tire
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. row — a line
  22. spring — a coil
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. hand — part of the 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