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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: land · arm · fan · file · bass · row · shower · field

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. file — a tool
  5. land — a country
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. field — for sport
  8. land — to come down
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. file — a document
  11. land — ground
  12. file — a line of people
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. field — farmland
  17. bass — the fish
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bass — low music
  21. field — a subject
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. row — a line
  24. shower — rain

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