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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 116 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 · rush · shower · hide · hand · capital · file · trunk

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. hand — in cards
  3. row — a line
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. hand — help
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. shower — rain
  11. row — to paddle
  12. capital — money
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. file — a tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. capital — a city
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. shower — to wash
  21. file — a line of people
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — hurry

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