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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. content — the amount
  4. ground — a position
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cue — for pool
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. content — happy
  9. last — final
  10. swing — music
  11. last — finally
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cue — a signal
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. last — to go on
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rash — a series
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. swing — to play on
  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