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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: club · row · file · pound · craft · shower

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. club — for golf
  3. pound — a weight
  4. file — a line of people
  5. row — to paddle
  6. file — a document
  7. craft — a skill
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. file — a tool
  14. shower — rain
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — a group
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. shower — to wash

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