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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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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: land · straw · object · fan · lash · shower · mug · band

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. land — ground
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mug — a face
  12. land — to come down
  13. mug — a cup
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. shower — to wash
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. object — to protest
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. object — an aim
  20. land — a country
  21. band — a music group
  22. object — a thing
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. band — a ring

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