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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 120 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: pit · mouse · shower · plane · sharp · wound · rash · club

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. club — for dancing
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. shower — to wash
  6. club — for golf
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. club — a group
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. rash — hasty
  18. shower — rain
  19. pit — a hole
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. rash — a series
  24. pit — in a race

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