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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. shower — rain
  7. ball — a dance
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bear — the animal
  11. spring — the season
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bear — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ball — a great time
  19. saw — the tool
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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