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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. net — for catching
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. shower — rain
  14. pass — a permit
  15. club — a group
  16. file — a tool
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. club — for dancing
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. club — for golf
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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