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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. court — for sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. march — music
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. court — of law
  15. current — happening now
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. plane — a tool
  18. current — of water
  19. court — of a king
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. march — the month
  23. current — electric
  24. march — the month

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