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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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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: content · lash · shower · snap · tear · bank · straw · pitcher

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. snap — to click
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. content — the amount
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. shower — rain
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. tear — from crying
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. content — happy
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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