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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: row · mark · bat · clip · foot · lean · rash · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. row — a line
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. foot — a measure
  8. mark — a trace
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mark — a grade
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. clip — a video
  13. shower — rain
  14. bat — the animal
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. lean — to bend
  17. row — to paddle
  18. rash — hasty
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. lean — thin
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rash — a series

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