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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · shower · dip · lash · rush · degree · game · straw

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. game — wild animals
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. shower — rain
  7. game — a match
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cold — not warm
  13. dip — to sink
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. shower — to wash
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rush — hurry
  22. degree — an amount
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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