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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mouse · saw · march · rash · chair · spring · shower · degree

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rash — hasty
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. saw — the tool
  6. march — the month
  7. degree — an amount
  8. march — music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rash — a series
  13. shower — rain
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. march — the month
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spring — the season
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spring — of water
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. chair — a leader

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