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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rash — hasty
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. shower — rain
  6. kick — in football
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. game — a match
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. shower — to wash
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. game — wild animals
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. rash — a series
  22. branch — a division
  23. bear — the animal
  24. kick — with a leg

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