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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
468
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: dip · chest · wave · field · mouse · wound · march · shower

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. chest — of your body
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. field — farmland
  6. chest — a box
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — rain
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. field — for sport
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. march — the month
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — a subject
  20. march — music
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mouse — for a computer

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