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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lean — to bend
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cold — not warm
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. spring — of water
  10. land — to come down
  11. lean — thin
  12. land — a country
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cold — an illness
  16. charge — a price
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. charge — in control
  19. spring — the season
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. land — ground
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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