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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: press · lash · tube · swing · game · bowl · kid · shower

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. shower — to wash
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. shower — rain
  13. press — a publisher
  14. game — wild animals
  15. swing — to play on
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. game — a match
  24. tube — a container

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