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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: clip · perch · cold · suit · drill · shower · lean · lash

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. drill — the tool
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. clip — a video
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. suit — to fit
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. drill — a practice
  12. lean — thin
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — to cut
  15. shower — to wash
  16. suit — in cards
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. suit — clothes
  22. perch — the fish
  23. lean — to bend
  24. drill — army training

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