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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 116 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. shower — rain
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fork — in a road
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. lie — to recline
  9. charge — in control
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. spring — of water
  12. charge — a price
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. net — in sport
  15. mine — for digging
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. spring — the season
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. charge — electricity
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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