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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rest — a break
  3. ball — a dance
  4. rest — what's left
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. spring — the season
  21. rest — what's left
  22. ball — a great time
  23. spring — of water
  24. dip — to dunk

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