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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: craft · arm · file · spell · game · squash · shower · wake

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. craft — a skill
  6. file — a tool
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. squash — the sport
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. game — a match
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. game — wild animals
  14. file — a line of people
  15. shower — rain
  16. spell — a short time
  17. file — a document
  18. wake — a trail
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — letters
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. craft — boats
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. squash — to crush

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