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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: shower · pass · bat · coach · wind · temple · snap · rash

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. rash — a series
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. pass — a permit
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. rash — hasty
  14. snap — to click
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. temple — a place of worship

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