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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cue — a hint
  4. game — a match
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wind — moving air
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pass — a permit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. cue — for pool

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