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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 120 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
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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: charge · shower · hide · craft · mine · lash · hand · snap

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hand — in cards
  6. charge — in control
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. charge — a price
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. craft — boats
  16. hand — help
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. charge — electricity
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. craft — a skill
  24. mine — belonging to me

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