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

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. shower — to wash
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bass — low music
  6. row — a line
  7. craft — a skill
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — to visit
  11. craft — boats
  12. wake — a trail
  13. kid — child
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pop — music
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. shower — rain
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bass — the fish
  24. arm — part of the body

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