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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 120 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: bass · band · shower · file · bat · rash · temple · pop

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. file — a line of people
  3. shower — rain
  4. file — a document
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bass — low music
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. band — a music group
  9. rash — a series
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. file — a tool
  13. rash — hasty
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. temple — a place of worship

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