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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 120 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. band — a music group
  3. bear — the animal
  4. band — a ring
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. shower — rain
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. court — for sport
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wake — a trail
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. court — of law
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. court — of a king

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