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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: bowl · hand · shower · chip · spell · mark · leaves · pitcher

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. mark — a grade
  3. shower — rain
  4. mark — a trace
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spell — letters
  8. hand — in cards
  9. spell — magic
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chip — to eat
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chip — for betting
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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