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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: game · current · fan · rash · drill · shower · pound · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. game — wild animals
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. game — a match
  5. rash — hasty
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. current — happening now
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. current — electric
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. shower — rain
  20. rash — a series
  21. shower — to wash
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. drill — a practice
  24. current — of water

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