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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. spring — of water
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bound — certain
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bulb — for light
  11. staff — employees
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spring — the season
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pit — a hole
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bound — obliged
  21. staff — a stick
  22. spring — a coil
  23. staff — employees
  24. lash — an eyelash

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