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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · ball · mouse · shower · drill · clip · wind · pass

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. shower — rain
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. drill — the tool
  10. clip — for paper
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pass — a permit
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. ball — a great time
  21. clip — a video
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — a practice

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