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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: fork · rock · face · snap · ground · date · shower · lash

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. shower — rain
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. face — to point toward
  8. fork — in a road
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. ground — a position
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. snap — to click
  18. face — part of the head
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. face — to confront
  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