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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: land · file · leaves · shower · pitcher · chest · mouse · safe

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. chest — of your body
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. chest — of your body
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. file — a document
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. file — a tool
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. land — to come down
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. shower — to wash
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. land — ground
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. chest — a box
  20. shower — rain
  21. file — a line of people
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pitcher — a jug

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