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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. present — a gift
  3. fall — the season
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chip — for betting
  6. fall — to drop
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. fall — to drop
  15. present — the time now
  16. chip — to eat
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. present — there

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