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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: kid · shower · rush · fine · wind · content · pop · bulb

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. shower — rain
  3. rush — hurry
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. shower — to wash
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. pop — music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wind — moving air
  13. content — happy
  14. kid — to tease
  15. content — the amount
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — soda
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. kid — child

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