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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: ruler · bat · arm · shower · hand · march · wave · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. shower — rain
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. hand — help
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. hand — in cards
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. shower — to wash
  22. march — the month
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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