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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. lash — to lash out
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. game — wild animals
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — to push
  15. bat — the animal
  16. track — to keep track
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. mine — for digging
  20. track — a path
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. track — a song
  23. swing — music
  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