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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. drill — army training
  6. chest — of your body
  7. hand — help
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. drill — a practice
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chest — of your body
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bass — low music
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — a box
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cabinet — ministers

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