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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: game · shower · file · key · ball · leaves · prune · drill

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. shower — to wash
  3. drill — a practice
  4. key — the most important part
  5. prune — to trim
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. shower — rain
  8. prune — to trim
  9. ball — a great time
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. file — a document
  14. game — wild animals
  15. drill — the tool
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. game — a match
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. drill — army training
  24. ball — a dance

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