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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. firm — steady
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rest — a break
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rest — what's left
  14. firm — decided
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cell — in biology
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. firm — a company
  21. fall — the season
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. fall — to drop

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