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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: net · rush · file · ground · mate · track · shower · wound

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. file — a line of people
  3. net — for catching
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mate — a friend
  6. file — a document
  7. track — a song
  8. ground — the earth
  9. track — a path
  10. rush — hurry
  11. mate — to breed
  12. net — in sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. shower — rain
  15. ground — a position
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — after costs
  18. track — to keep track
  19. mate — a partner
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wound — an injury
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. file — a tool

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