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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. row — to paddle
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bat — the animal
  19. row — a line
  20. plane — a tool
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. leaves — to go away

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