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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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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: band · shower · foot · pitcher · tear · mate · kid · bowl

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mate — a friend
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — child
  7. band — a music group
  8. tear — from crying
  9. band — a ring
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. tear — from crying
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — to breed
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. shower — to wash
  22. foot — a measure
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bowl — to roll

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