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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: track · shower · lean · kid · lash · pound · date · bear

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. lean — thin
  9. kid — to tease
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. shower — rain
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. track — a song
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. shower — to wash
  19. kid — child
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bear — the animal
  22. date — the fruit
  23. track — a path
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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