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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 120 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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. race — humankind
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. saw — the tool
  9. scale — in music
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. scale — size or range
  24. race — a contest

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