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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. shower — rain
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fork — in a road
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rest — what's left
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. board — a committee
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. squash — to crush
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. board — to get on
  19. kid — child
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. board — a flat piece

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