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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. season — of the year
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rash — hasty
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. rash — a series
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. march — the month
  22. rush — hurry
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. march — music

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