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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spring — the season
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. spring — of water
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spring — a coil
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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