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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 120 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: bulb · board · wind · hand · deal · shower · mouse · file

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. shower — to wash
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. file — a tool
  5. board — a committee
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. board — to get on
  16. hand — help
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bulb — for light
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. hand — in cards
  22. shower — rain
  23. bulb — for light
  24. mouse — the animal

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