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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. object — to protest
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — electricity
  5. object — an aim
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. last — to go on
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. last — final
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. charge — in control
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. object — a thing
  22. last — finally
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. cold — an illness

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