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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: straw · bat · lash · court · snap · shower · track · drill

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. shower — rain
  3. court — of a king
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. court — for sport
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bat — the animal
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. track — a song
  13. drill — army training
  14. snap — to click
  15. shower — to wash
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. drill — a practice
  18. track — a path
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. track — to keep track
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. court — of law

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