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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 116 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: fall · hand · bulb · mine · bowl · ruler · shower · row

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. hand — help
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bulb — for light
  11. row — a line
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. shower — rain
  20. bulb — for light
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. fall — the season
  24. row — a quarrel

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