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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. kid — child
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. rash — hasty
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cold — not warm
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. sharp — clever
  24. lash — an eyelash

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