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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cap — a lid

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