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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. hand — help
  7. ground — a position
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stem — to come from
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. hand — in cards
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rock — a stone
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. ground — crushed
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. ground — the earth
  19. chip — to eat
  20. rock — music
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. stem — of a plant

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