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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 116 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. charge — electricity
  5. scale — in music
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rash — hasty
  13. shower — to wash
  14. charge — a price
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. charge — in control
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rash — a series
  24. shower — rain

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