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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
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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 · kid · last · coach · rash · pop · content · lash

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — to wash
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. pop — to visit
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. pop — music
  13. content — happy
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. content — the amount
  16. pop — soda
  17. last — final
  18. shower — rain
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. last — to go on
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. kid — child
  24. rash — on the skin

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