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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: shower · pound · lash · staff · rash · kid · court · snap

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. court — of law
  3. snap — to click
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. court — of a king
  6. shower — rain
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. staff — a stick
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. kid — to tease
  11. staff — employees
  12. kid — child
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. court — for sport
  21. pound — a weight
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. staff — employees

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