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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. kick — in football
  3. pitch — completely
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. shower — to wash
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. shower — rain
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. band — a ring
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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