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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. ball — a dance
  3. shower — to wash
  4. last — final
  5. season — of the year
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. last — finally
  14. file — a tool
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. season — in sport
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. last — to go on
  23. file — a document
  24. lash — an eyelash

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