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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: lash · lie · arm · scale · bat · drill · court · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. court — for sport
  4. scale — size or range
  5. court — of a king
  6. scale — in music
  7. bat — the animal
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. drill — army training
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. drill — a practice
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lie — to recline
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. shower — rain
  21. court — of law
  22. drill — the tool
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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