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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. swing — to play on
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lie — to recline
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. swing — music
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. swing — in golf
  24. wave — of the sea

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