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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 116 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: rush · lash · pitcher · court · bulb · shower · pound · cold

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bulb — for light
  5. court — of a king
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — for sport
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rush — hurry
  21. shower — rain
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. court — of law
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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