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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: last · pass · fall · stick · shower · cold · court · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. court — for sport
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fall — the season
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. court — of law
  10. cold — not warm
  11. court — of a king
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pass — a permit
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. last — final
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. fall — to drop
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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