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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: bore · rash · cell · stock · mouse · shower · leaves · wound

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. shower — rain
  4. wound — an injury
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stock — shares
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bore — to drill
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. rash — a series
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. stock — goods

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