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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
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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: shower · mouse · last · deal · saw · mine · racket · row

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. last — final
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. row — a line
  9. last — finally
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. last — to go on
  13. row — to paddle
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. shower — rain
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. deal — to handle
  19. saw — the tool
  20. shower — to wash
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. row — a quarrel

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