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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wake — a trail
  5. last — to go on
  6. fine — high quality
  7. last — finally
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. fine — all right
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. last — final
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lie — an untruth

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