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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: present · shower · pitcher · board · wound · dip · kid · spring

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. spring — of water
  3. shower — to wash
  4. present — a gift
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. shower — rain
  11. present — the time now
  12. kid — child
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. board — a committee
  15. present — there
  16. dip — to sink
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kid — to tease

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