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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · wound · game · shower · kid · squash · mouse · bulb

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. game — a match
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mine — for digging
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. kid — to tease
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bulb — for light
  17. kid — child
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. bulb — for light
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. squash — the sport
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wound — an injury

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