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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.

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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: temple · shower · object · sharp · bowl · row · file · net

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — an aim
  6. shower — rain
  7. net — after costs
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. object — to protest
  14. net — for catching
  15. row — to paddle
  16. sharp — clever
  17. row — a line
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. file — a line of people
  20. net — in sport
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. sharp — exactly

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