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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: shower · snap · sharp · season · racket · rash · saw · chip

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. shower — rain
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. snap — to click
  7. chip — to eat
  8. sharp — clever
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rash — a series
  16. saw — the tool
  17. season — in sport
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. saw — the tool
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rash — hasty
  24. racket — for tennis

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