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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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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. club — for dancing
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. drill — a practice
  5. shower — to wash
  6. drill — the tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. rash — a series
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. file — a document
  19. bear — the animal
  20. drill — army training
  21. rash — hasty
  22. snap — to click
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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