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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — finally
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. vault — a safe
  10. row — a line
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. content — the amount
  13. deal — to handle
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. row — to paddle
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. content — happy
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. hand — help
  24. cold — not warm

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