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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: ball · object · shower · chest · net · bore · bulb · saw

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. net — after costs
  8. shower — rain
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chest — a box
  11. bore — to tire
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. object — a thing
  15. bulb — for light
  16. ball — a dance
  17. shower — to wash
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bore — to drill
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. saw — the tool
  24. ball — a great time

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