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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. last — finally
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bound — obliged
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. track — a path
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bound — tied together
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. fine — all right
  18. bound — certain
  19. fine — high quality
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wind — moving air
  24. track — a song

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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