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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: kick · arm · cell · file · drill · shower · pound · row

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. cell — in biology
  2. drill — army training
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. row — to paddle
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. shower — rain
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. row — a line
  17. pound — a weight
  18. drill — the tool
  19. kick — in football
  20. cell — a phone
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. file — a document
  23. drill — a practice
  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