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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. saw — the tool
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. cold — not warm
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — to confront
  10. snap — to click
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. face — part of the head
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. nail — for a hammer

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