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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: board · tear · arm · rest · rule · current · chest · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. board — to get on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. rest — a break
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. current — happening now
  11. rest — what's left
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rest — what's left
  16. shower — rain
  17. rule — a law
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rule — government
  20. current — of water
  21. current — electric
  22. tear — from crying
  23. board — a committee
  24. arm — a part of something

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