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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: arm · can · content · shower · kick · ground · cold · nail

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. can — to be able to
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. shower — rain
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ground — crushed
  10. can — a tin
  11. content — the amount
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kick — in football
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. content — happy
  16. cold — not warm
  17. can — a tin
  18. ground — a position
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ground — the earth
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cold — an illness

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