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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: chip · temple · kid · wound · shower · wake · spell · track

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. track — to keep track
  3. spell — letters
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. shower — to wash
  6. track — a path
  7. kid — child
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. track — a song
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chip — for betting
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. kid — to tease
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chip — to eat
  17. spell — magic
  18. wake — a trail
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. spell — a short time
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. shower — rain

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