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

Word bank: pit · straw · shower · sharp · root · lash

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. shower — to wash
  8. sharp — clever
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pit — a hole
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. pit — in a race
  14. root — the cause
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — of a plant
  18. shower — rain

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