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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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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: charge · shower · saw · hide · wave · lash · club · clip

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. clip — a video
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. saw — the tool
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. club — a group
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. club — for dancing
  16. saw — the tool
  17. shower — rain
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. shower — to wash
  23. charge — in control
  24. hide — animal skin

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