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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. stem — to come from
  3. club — for dancing
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cap — a hat
  7. kid — child
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. club — a group
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. cap — of ice
  15. shower — rain
  16. club — for golf
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. cap — a lid
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — to wash

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