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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. pit — in a race
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bass — the fish
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bass — low music
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — government

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