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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: game · bulb · plane · rush · face · wake · shower · file

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. file — a tool
  4. bulb — for light
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bulb — for light
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. face — to confront
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wake — a trail
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. face — to point toward
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. face — part of the head
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. shower — rain
  23. plane — a tool
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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