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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 120 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. kid — child
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. row — a line
  12. bulb — for light
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cell — in biology
  15. row — to paddle
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cell — a phone
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bulb — for light
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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