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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 116 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. shower — rain
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. stock — goods
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. squash — the sport
  9. race — a contest
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rush — hurry
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. squash — to crush
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. race — humankind
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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