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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 116 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: kid · fork · drill · shower · row · tube · rest · lash

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. rest — a break
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. fork — in a road
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rest — what's left
  9. drill — army training
  10. rest — what's left
  11. shower — rain
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. row — a line
  17. tube — the underground
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. shower — to wash
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. tube — a container
  24. row — to paddle

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