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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. drill — a practice
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wake — a trail
  9. content — happy
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. key — in music
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — the tool
  16. chip — to eat
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. key — the most important part
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. content — the amount
  22. swing — music
  23. chip — for betting
  24. key — for a lock

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