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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. row — a line
  5. spring — the season
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. mug — a cup
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. spring — a coil
  13. face — part of the head
  14. land — a country
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mug — a face
  20. face — to confront
  21. march — the month
  22. mug — to rob
  23. spring — of water
  24. face — to point toward

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