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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: fan · temple · pound · mouse · clip · row · shower · present

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. clip — a video
  7. row — to paddle
  8. present — a gift
  9. clip — to cut
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. present — there
  14. present — the time now
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. shower — rain
  17. row — a line
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pound — a weight
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. clip — for paper

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