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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rock — music
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rash — hasty
  8. march — the month
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. rock — a stone
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rush — hurry
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. march — music
  20. squash — the sport
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. march — the month
  24. squash — to crush

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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