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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: bark · bay · shower · nail · kick · row · fan · cell

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bark — to shout
  6. kick — in football
  7. cell — a phone
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. shower — to wash
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cell — in biology
  24. shower — rain

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