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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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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: lash · mine · dip · game · chest · shower · deal · straw

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chest — of your body
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. dip — to sink
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. shower — to wash
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. shower — rain
  16. deal — to handle
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. mine — for digging
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. game — a match
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. chest — a box
  24. lash — an eyelash

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