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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 120 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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. file — a tool
  5. kid — child
  6. shower — rain
  7. file — a line of people
  8. kid — to tease
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ground — the earth
  15. file — a document
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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