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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.

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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: shower · rush · row · temple · last · hand · wound · craft

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. craft — a skill
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. craft — boats
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. last — finally
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. wound — an injury
  15. shower — to wash
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. wound — an injury
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. shower — rain
  20. hand — help
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. hand — in cards

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