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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: bowl · mark · mate · hand · ground · shower · rest · row

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mate — to breed
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mark — a trace
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. ground — a position
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mark — a grade
  21. hand — help
  22. rest — a break
  23. row — a line
  24. mate — a friend

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