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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wind — moving air
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — clothes
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rest — what's left
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. suit — to fit

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