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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 116 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: season · last · bulb · shower · fan · hand · mine · bore

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. bulb — for light
  8. last — to go on
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. last — finally
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. hand — help
  20. mine — for digging
  21. last — final
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. shower — to wash

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