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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · temple · straw · wake · field · bass · lie · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. field — farmland
  3. wake — a trail
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bass — low music
  8. lie — to recline
  9. shower — rain
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. shower — to wash
  17. field — for sport
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. field — a subject
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. temple — side of the head

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