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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. ball — a great time
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. club — for dancing
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ground — a position
  13. tear — to rip
  14. club — a group
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. club — for golf
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. tear — from crying
  20. scale — size or range
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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