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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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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: row · deal · shower · kick · stand · chest · mouse · net

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. deal — to handle
  4. shower — to wash
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. row — a line
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. stand — to bear
  13. net — in sport
  14. kick — in football
  15. row — to paddle
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. chest — of your body
  19. shower — rain
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. chest — a box
  24. mouse — for a computer

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