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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: rest · shower · mine · mouse · game · cold · foot · fine

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cold — an illness
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. fine — all right
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rest — a break
  14. cold — not warm
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. game — a match
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fine — high quality
  24. mouse — the animal

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