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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. face — part of the head
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. fall — to drop
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fine — all right
  19. fall — the season
  20. fine — high quality
  21. face — to confront
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. face — to point toward

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