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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mouse · plane · file · wound · shower · temple · degree · pound

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. file — a document
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. file — a tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. degree — an amount
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. shower — rain
  17. degree — from a university
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pound — a weight
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. plane — a tool
  24. wound — an injury

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