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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. ground — crushed
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. kid — child
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bat — the animal
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ground — the earth
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ground — a position

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