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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fine — high quality
  3. rash — a series
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. object — to protest
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. court — of law
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. court — for sport
  13. rash — hasty
  14. court — of a king
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bat — for 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