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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: stick · object · arm · row · cell · shower · net · sharp

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. net — in sport
  4. object — an aim
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cell — in biology
  7. object — to protest
  8. net — for catching
  9. sharp — clever
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. row — a line
  13. object — a thing
  14. row — to paddle
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. shower — to wash
  17. net — after costs
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cell — a phone
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. shower — rain
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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