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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: wound · shower · mate · content · spring · wake · foot · rest

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. content — the amount
  3. shower — rain
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. foot — a measure
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. spring — of water
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mate — a partner
  12. rest — what's left
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. wound — an injury
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mate — a friend
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rest — a break

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