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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. mate — to breed
  5. present — there
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. mine — for digging
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. present — the time now
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cold — not warm
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. mate — a partner
  18. prune — to trim
  19. present — a gift
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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