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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: last · clip · lash · bowl · craft · drill · band · shower

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. shower — rain
  7. drill — the tool
  8. band — a music group
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. shower — to wash
  15. drill — army training
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. drill — a practice
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. craft — boats
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. last — final

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