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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. can — to be able to
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. object — an aim
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. can — a tin
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. fork — in a road
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. can — a tin
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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