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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. net — in sport
  4. cap — of ice
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bound — tied together
  7. net — for catching
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cap — a lid
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bound — certain
  14. game — a match
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wake — a trail
  18. hand — help
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cap — a hat
  22. net — after costs
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. hand — part of the body

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