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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: shower · file · bound · rash · wind · chip · nail · date

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bound — certain
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bound — obliged
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wind — moving air
  11. file — a tool
  12. rash — a series
  13. shower — rain
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wind — moving air
  18. file — a line of people
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. file — a document
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. date — the fruit
  24. chip — for betting

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