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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. game — a match
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. staff — employees
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. staff — a stick
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. staff — employees
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. cell — in a prison

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