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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: shower · field · row · rock · arm · lash · bear · swing

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. swing — in golf
  4. rock — music
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. shower — rain
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bear — the animal
  13. swing — music
  14. shower — to wash
  15. row — to paddle
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bear — the animal
  24. row — a line

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