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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · fan · bark · mark · shower · drill · rest · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. mark — a trace
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. rest — what's left
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rest — a break
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mark — a grade
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. bark — to shout
  22. land — ground
  23. shower — rain
  24. mark — to pay attention

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