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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: shower · wave · lash · drill · ruler · current · pitch · chest

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. current — of water
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. current — electric
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. shower — to wash
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. current — happening now
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitch — completely
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — rain
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. chest — a box
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. drill — the tool
  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