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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. ground — a position
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. current — electric
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. ground — crushed
  8. object — to protest
  9. spell — letters
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wake — a trail
  16. current — of water
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. object — an aim
  20. mine — for digging
  21. current — happening now
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. object — a thing

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