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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cap — a hat
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ground — the earth
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cap — of ice
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cap — a lid
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. ground — a position
  24. nail — for a hammer

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