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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. present — there
  9. content — happy
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. shower — to wash
  15. present — the time now
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. present — a gift
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. shower — rain
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rule — government

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