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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: kid · ball · land · shower · file · temple · pop · foot

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pop — soda
  4. ball — a dance
  5. file — a line of people
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. ball — a great time
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. land — to come down
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. foot — a measure
  14. file — a document
  15. kid — to tease
  16. land — a country
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — child
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. file — a tool
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pop — music

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