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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. board — to get on
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bass — the fish
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. spring — a coil
  8. drill — the tool
  9. spring — the season
  10. face — part of the head
  11. spring — of water
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. plane — a tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. face — to confront
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. drill — army training
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bass — low music

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