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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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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: hide · current · mug · lash · bat · stem · dip · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. current — happening now
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. mug — a face
  7. shower — to wash
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mug — to rob
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. current — of water
  15. bat — the animal
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. dip — to sink
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. current — electric
  21. mug — a cup
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. stem — to come from
  24. dip — to dunk

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