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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 116 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 · field · snap · shower · row · rush · hand · bore

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. shower — to wash
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bore — to tire
  6. snap — to click
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. row — a line
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. row — to paddle
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bore — to drill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. field — a subject

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