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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: shower · hide · race · lash · wave · arm · ground · fall

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. shower — to wash
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. shower — rain
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fall — the season
  19. race — humankind
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. fall — to drop
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. hide — to keep secret

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