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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tube · shower · row · object · date · hand · kid · lash

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. shower — rain
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. date — the fruit
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. object — to protest
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. object — an aim
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. object — a thing
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — the underground
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — to wash

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