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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 120 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. face — part of the head
  4. wound — an injury
  5. scale — in music
  6. bound — tied together
  7. face — to confront
  8. bound — certain
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pit — in a race
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. scale — size or range
  17. kid — child
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bound — obliged

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