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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. scale — size or range
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rash — hasty
  12. shower — to wash
  13. fall — the season
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. scale — in music
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. rash — a series
  21. hand — help
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rash — on the skin

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