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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 120 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: shower · fall · track · wind · arm · rash · hide · ball

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. track — to keep track
  5. shower — rain
  6. ball — a dance
  7. fall — the season
  8. track — a song
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wind — moving air
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. ball — a great time
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rash — a series
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rash — hasty
  23. wind — moving air
  24. track — a path

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