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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: root · court · shower · lash · kid · tear · pitcher · mug

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. root — of a word
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. kid — child
  5. tear — from crying
  6. shower — rain
  7. court — of a king
  8. mug — a face
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. tear — from crying
  12. kid — to tease
  13. root — the cause
  14. mug — a cup
  15. court — for sport
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. shower — to wash
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mug — to rob
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. court — of law

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