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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. prune — to trim
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. rash — hasty
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. cold — an illness
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. ground — a position
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rash — a series
  24. game — a match

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