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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 120 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 · shower · craft · ground · pop · squash · row · wind

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pop — soda
  3. ground — a position
  4. shower — rain
  5. row — a line
  6. craft — a skill
  7. shower — to wash
  8. ground — crushed
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. craft — boats
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pop — music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pop — to visit
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. row — to paddle
  22. squash — to crush
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wind — moving air

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