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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: swing · file · bear · wound · shower · rush · net · wave

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. net — after costs
  3. swing — to play on
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bear — the animal
  14. swing — music
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. file — a document
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. net — for catching
  20. rush — hurry
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. wound — an injury
  24. net — in sport

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