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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
468
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 · last · chair · fan · hand · lash · mate · pitch

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pitch — completely
  3. last — finally
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — to breed
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. last — to go on
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. mate — a partner
  18. chair — a leader
  19. shower — to wash
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. last — final
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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