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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: shower · coach · cap · present · cell · sharp · lash · straw

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. sharp — clever
  4. present — there
  5. cell — in biology
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. present — the time now
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cap — of ice
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cap — a hat
  12. shower — rain
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cell — a phone
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cap — a lid
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. lash — to lash out

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