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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. game — wild animals
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. land — a country
  10. game — a match
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. season — in sport
  20. wake — a trail
  21. season — of the year
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lash — an eyelash

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