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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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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: kick · shower · chest · cell · rash · bark · craft · arm

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. shower — rain
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rash — a series
  6. cell — in biology
  7. craft — a skill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bark — to shout
  11. craft — boats
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. kick — in football
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. chest — a box
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chest — of your body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. shower — to wash

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