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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 · fall · bark · chest · rush · fan · stick · shower

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rush — hurry
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. chest — a box
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — rain
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. chest — of your body

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