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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: mate · shower · saw · fall · chip · kid · track · fan

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. track — a song
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chip — for betting
  5. track — to keep track
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fall — the season
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. shower — to wash
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. track — a path
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. kid — child
  18. chip — to eat
  19. fall — to drop
  20. saw — the tool
  21. fall — to drop
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. shower — rain

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