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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: drill · bank · wave · shower · clip · kid · racket · lash

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. clip — to cut
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. kid — child
  5. clip — a video
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bank — of a river
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. drill — a practice
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. drill — the tool
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bank — for money
  19. shower — rain
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. drill — army training
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bank — for money

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