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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 124 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. face — to confront
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. cold — not warm
  7. key — for a lock
  8. field — a subject
  9. hand — help
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bore — to drill
  16. key — in music
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. face — part of the head
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bore — to tire
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bore — gave birth

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