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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. club — for dancing
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. roll — a cake
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. shower — to wash
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. clip — to cut
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a word
  14. clip — a video
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. club — a group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. root — of a plant
  21. clip — for paper
  22. band — a ring
  23. club — for golf
  24. shower — rain

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