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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. last — final
  4. mine — for digging
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. roll — a cake
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. last — finally
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. snap — to click
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. roll — a list
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. last — to go on
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. pass — a permit
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. pass — to spend time

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