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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. lean — thin
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. fine — all right
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. land — a country
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. land — ground
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. fine — high quality
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. land — to come down
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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