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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: club · perch · band · lash · wave · shower · bark · swing

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. band — a ring
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bark — to shout
  7. club — a group
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. swing — music
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. perch — the fish
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. shower — to wash
  17. swing — in golf
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. shower — rain
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. band — a music group
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — to play on

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