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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.

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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: shower · lash · swing · last · cold · march · lie · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — soda
  3. shower — to wash
  4. march — the month
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pop — to visit
  9. march — music
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. march — the month
  12. shower — rain
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. swing — music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. last — finally
  17. swing — to play on
  18. last — to go on
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — an illness
  22. last — final
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lash — an eyelash

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