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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
468
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: chest · ground · saw · shower · file · kick · fan · band

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. saw — the tool
  4. file — a document
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. chest — a box
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ground — crushed
  10. shower — rain
  11. band — a music group
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. shower — to wash
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. kick — in football
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. band — a ring
  24. chest — of your body

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