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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. mark — a grade
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. court — of a king
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. mark — a trace
  14. roll — a list
  15. wind — moving air
  16. snap — to click
  17. roll — a cake
  18. court — for sport
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. court — of law
  21. season — in sport
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. season — of the year
  24. dip — to sink

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