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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 · pitcher · row · nail · cell · kid · mark · cap

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cell — a phone
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. mark — a trace
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. row — to paddle
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cap — of ice
  11. mark — a grade
  12. row — a line
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. cell — in biology
  16. shower — rain
  17. cap — a hat
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cap — a lid
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. nail — for a hammer

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