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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: snap · drill · temple · shower · degree · last · lash · bear

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bear — the animal
  3. last — finally
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. last — final
  8. drill — the tool
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. drill — army training
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bear — the animal
  15. last — to go on
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. shower — rain
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. lash — to lash out

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