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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 · bat · sharp · mine · can · shower · hand · board

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bat — the animal
  11. can — a tin
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. board — a committee
  16. hand — in cards
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. board — to get on
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — help
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. sharp — clever

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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