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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pit — a hole
  13. saw — the tool
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. stock — shares
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pit — in a race
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. stock — goods

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