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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 120 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: last · band · ground · spring · deal · shower · file · mouse

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. file — a tool
  10. spring — of water
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. file — a line of people
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. deal — to handle
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. shower — to wash
  19. last — final
  20. shower — rain
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. file — a document
  23. ground — a position
  24. spring — the season

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