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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. can — a tin
  5. kid — to tease
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. last — to go on
  8. kid — child
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. last — finally
  13. can — a tin
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. can — to be able to
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wind — moving air
  21. sharp — clever
  22. last — final
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pitcher — a jug

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