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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · row · staff · lash · shower · leaves

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pound — a weight
  3. row — a line
  4. staff — employees
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. row — to paddle
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — of a tree

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