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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
468
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: can · snap · rash · row · stick · cabinet · shower · hand

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. shower — rain
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. can — to be able to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. hand — help
  8. snap — to click
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hand — in cards
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. can — a tin
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. can — a tin
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. row — a line
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rash — a series

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