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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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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: roll · shower · bowl · band · toast · kid · pit · nail

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. shower — rain
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. band — a ring
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. shower — to wash
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. kid — child
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. band — a music group
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. roll — a list
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. toast — bread

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