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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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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: ground · wound · mouse · bat · season · shower · rash · dip

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. shower — rain
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. ground — a position
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wound — an injury
  12. season — in sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bat — the animal
  24. season — of the year

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