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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: bass · shower · mouse · field · saw · staff · foot · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. shower — to wash
  3. staff — employees
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. field — a subject
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. shower — rain
  12. bass — the fish
  13. saw — the tool
  14. staff — a stick
  15. field — for sport
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. staff — employees
  20. saw — the tool
  21. field — farmland
  22. bass — low music
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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