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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. mate — a friend
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mate — a partner
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — music
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. mate — to breed
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. dip — to sink
  19. tube — a container
  20. shower — rain
  21. game — a match
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. foot — a measure
  24. tube — the underground

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