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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: wind · rest · rash · dip · shower · bear · snap · game

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bear — the animal
  5. game — a match
  6. shower — rain
  7. rest — what's left
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bear — the animal
  14. game — wild animals
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. rash — a series
  19. rest — a break
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. rash — hasty
  23. wind — moving air
  24. game — a kind of play

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