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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. march — music
  3. spring — a coil
  4. suit — clothes
  5. march — the month
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. chip — to eat
  12. row — a line
  13. suit — to fit
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. spring — of water
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wound — an injury
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — help
  21. spring — the season
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. hand — in cards

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