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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.

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: band · object · ball · file · cold · shower · bark · lash

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. object — to protest
  6. file — a tool
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cold — not warm
  9. file — a document
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. object — an aim
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. object — a thing
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cold — an illness
  18. band — a music group
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bark — to shout
  21. band — a ring
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cold — the Cold War

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