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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. ball — a dance
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. ball — a great time
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mine — for digging

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