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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 120 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: mate · present · shower · snap · club · lash · file · drill

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. drill — a practice
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. file — a document
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. present — the time now
  8. mate — to breed
  9. club — for golf
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — a friend
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. file — a tool
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. present — a gift
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. present — there
  24. file — a line of people

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