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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. club — a group
  5. capital — a city
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. club — for golf
  15. rock — music
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cold — an illness
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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