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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fall — the season
  3. kid — child
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. rock — music
  11. cell — in biology
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rock — a stone
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wake — a trail
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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