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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: shower · mark · chip · wave · mug · season · drill · wound

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. mug — a face
  4. drill — a practice
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. chip — for betting
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. mug — to rob
  12. drill — army training
  13. wound — an injury
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. season — in sport
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. mark — a grade
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. mark — a trace

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