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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: lie · cold · snap · wound · saw · board · shower · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. shower — rain
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. shower — to wash
  6. row — a line
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to click
  17. board — to get on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. board — a committee
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. saw — the tool

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