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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. False peace will not ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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. last — to go on
  4. ground — a position
  5. dip — to sink
  6. last — final
  7. drill — the tool
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. ground — the earth
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. drill — a practice
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. drill — army training
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ground — crushed
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. straw — dry grass

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