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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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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. last — final
  4. hand — help
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rule — government
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mug — a cup
  9. last — to go on
  10. mug — to rob
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mug — a face
  20. rule — a law
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bore — to drill
  23. last — finally
  24. bore — to tire

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