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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: rash · bulb · bat · shower · mine · pop · lash · face

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bulb — for light
  3. face — to confront
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bat — the animal
  8. shower — rain
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pop — to visit
  12. face — part of the head
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pop — soda
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rash — a series
  21. pop — music
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rash — on the skin
  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