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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: snap · dip · lash · plane · current · cold · drill · shower

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cold — not warm
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. drill — the tool
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — a tool
  8. snap — to click
  9. drill — a practice
  10. current — happening now
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. drill — army training
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. shower — rain
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. dip — to sink

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