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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. shower — to wash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pop — soda
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — not warm
  12. shower — rain
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. staff — employees
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. pop — music
  17. lean — thin
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lean — to bend
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pop — to visit

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