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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 116 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. rash — a series
  6. bass — low music
  7. staff — employees
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. row — a line
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. row — to paddle
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chair — a leader
  16. staff — a stick
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. can — a tin
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. staff — employees
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — on the skin
  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