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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. rash — a series
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cell — in biology

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