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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: fall · mouse · shower · staff · rash · hand · mate · bound

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. mate — a partner
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. staff — employees
  10. bound — certain
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mate — to breed
  18. staff — a stick
  19. rash — a series
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. hand — help
  24. mouse — for a computer

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