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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. can — to be able to
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fall — to drop
  7. ground — the earth
  8. track — a path
  9. cold — not warm
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. can — a tin
  16. ground — a position
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fall — the season
  22. ground — crushed
  23. track — a song
  24. can — a tin

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