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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 116 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spring — the season
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. track — a song
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. spring — of water
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bear — the animal
  16. track — a path
  17. last — final
  18. track — to keep track
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. swing — music
  21. bear — the animal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. spring — a coil

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