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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: hide · shower · nail · wave · field · row · lash · kid

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. row — a line
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. shower — rain
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. field — for sport
  21. kid — child
  22. row — to paddle
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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