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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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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: saw · shower · row · last · kick · coach · arm · pound

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. saw — the tool
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. row — to paddle
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. last — to go on
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. kick — in football
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pound — a weight
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. last — finally
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. row — a line
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. pound — to hit hard

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