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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: shower · dip · can · rash · pit · bat · wind · stick

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rash — a series
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — rain
  8. dip — to sink
  9. rash — hasty
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. can — a tin
  13. pit — in a race
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bat — the animal
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wind — moving air

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