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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. drill — the tool
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spring — the season
  11. drill — a practice
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pound — a weight
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lean — thin
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. kid — child
  19. shower — rain
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. spring — a coil
  22. kid — to tease
  23. spring — of water
  24. drill — army training

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