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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: stock · bore · can · straw · shower · fan · cold · lash

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. can — a tin
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cold — not warm
  8. can — to be able to
  9. bore — to drill
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bore — to tire
  16. shower — rain
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. can — a tin
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. stock — shares
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. stock — goods
  24. lash — to lash out

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