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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. land — to come down
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. mark — a trace
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. land — ground
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mark — a grade
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. land — a country
  24. wave — of the sea

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