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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: last · pound · straw · fan · net · ball · file · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. net — for catching
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pound — a weight
  5. file — a tool
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. last — finally
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. last — to go on
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. last — final
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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