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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. row — a line
  3. track — a song
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. track — to keep track
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. track — a path
  14. shower — rain
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. row — to paddle
  19. tear — to rip
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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