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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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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. fall — to drop
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. key — in music
  8. race — the arms race
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. fall — the season
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — humankind
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. key — for a lock
  23. race — a contest
  24. lash — an eyelash

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