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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chest — of your body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chest — a box
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. calf — of the leg

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