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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: bound · shower · sharp · fall · file · band · wake · deal

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bound — tied together
  3. band — a music group
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. file — a tool
  7. shower — to wash
  8. fall — to drop
  9. deal — to handle
  10. bound — certain
  11. shower — rain
  12. fall — the season
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. file — a line of people
  17. band — a ring
  18. wake — a trail
  19. fall — to drop
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bound — obliged
  22. file — a document
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. deal — a big deal

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