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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. ball — a dance
  8. land — a country
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — a signal
  11. roll — a cake
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. land — ground
  15. spring — a coil
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. roll — a list
  23. land — to come down
  24. cue — for pool

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