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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. club — for dancing
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. club — a group
  12. march — the month
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. ground — the earth
  16. march — music
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. ground — crushed
  19. club — for golf
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. march — the month
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cold — not warm
  24. arm — part of the body

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