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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: wake · row · ruler · net · chair · shower · mouse · kick

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. net — after costs
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. shower — rain
  9. kick — in football
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. net — for catching
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. net — in sport
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. chair — a leader
  21. row — a line
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. row — to paddle

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