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

Word bank: kid · arm · lash · drill · perch · row · sharp · chest

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. row — a line
  5. chest — of your body
  6. sharp — clever
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kid — child
  12. chest — of your body
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. kid — to tease
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. perch — the fish
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. drill — a practice
  24. chest — a box

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