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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 116 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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468
Word bank
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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. drill — army training
  3. kick — in football
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. drill — a practice
  13. snap — to click
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rule — a law
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. rule — government
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bass — low music
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. straw — dry grass

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