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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: game · wind · shower · mine · arm · wound · ruler · perch

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. game — a match
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wound — an injury
  8. game — wild animals
  9. perch — the fish
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. shower — to wash
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. shower — rain
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wound — an injury
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wind — moving air
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. perch — for a bird

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