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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: shower · club · ground · swing · degree · lash · stick · bark

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. club — for golf
  3. shower — to wash
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. ground — a position
  7. club — a group
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. degree — temperature
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. shower — rain
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. degree — an amount
  20. swing — music
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. club — for dancing

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