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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. ground — a position
  7. shower — rain
  8. ground — the earth
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. shower — to wash
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. pop — music
  13. bark — to shout
  14. club — for golf
  15. hand — help
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. pop — soda
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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