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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: bound · chest · spell · mine · current · bass · bowl · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bass — low music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spell — letters
  6. chest — a box
  7. bound — certain
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. spell — magic
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. current — happening now
  12. mine — for digging
  13. current — of water
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bass — the fish
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bound — obliged
  20. chest — of your body
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. current — electric

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