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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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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 · saw · file · wind · temple · pound · staff · rest

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. file — a tool
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. file — a document
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rest — what's left
  10. shower — rain
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wind — moving air
  13. staff — employees
  14. rest — a break
  15. saw — the tool
  16. staff — a stick
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. pound — a weight
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rest — what's left
  23. staff — employees
  24. pound — for dogs

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