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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. shower — rain
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bat — the animal
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a cake
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. roll — a list
  24. dip — a sauce

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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