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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. spring — a coil
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. root — the cause
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. root — of a plant
  10. kick — in football
  11. shower — rain
  12. spring — of water
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. spring — the season
  15. root — of a word
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. wound — an injury

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