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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. toast — bread
  3. cell — a phone
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. squash — the sport
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. rest — a break
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. spring — the season
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cell — in biology
  21. lie — to recline
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. rest — what's left
  24. plane — a tool

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