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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. kid — child
  4. spring — the season
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pitch — completely
  7. chip — for betting
  8. spring — a coil
  9. press — to push
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. spring — of water
  24. press — newspapers

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