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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: clip · shower · lash · bowl · sharp · fork · wound · march

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. shower — to wash
  8. sharp — clever
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. march — the month
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. march — music
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. march — the month
  24. wound — an injury

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