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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: snap · shower · capital · arm · row · coach · pound · chest

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. row — to paddle
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. snap — to click
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. capital — a city
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. row — a line
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. pound — a weight
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. shower — rain
  19. chest — of your body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. capital — money
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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