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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: tube · shower · lash · spell · kick · hand · board · wax

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. spell — letters
  4. hand — help
  5. kick — in football
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. shower — rain
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. shower — to wash
  12. tube — the underground
  13. board — a committee
  14. spell — magic
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. tube — a container
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. board — to get on
  20. hand — in cards
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. hand — part of the body

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