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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: spring · bore · bulb · shower · bass · game · temple · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. spring — the season
  3. game — a match
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bore — to drill
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bulb — for light
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spring — of water
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rash — a series
  19. bass — low music
  20. shower — rain
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. bass — the fish
  24. game — a kind of play

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