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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. tube — a container
  10. rash — hasty
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — child
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. rash — a series
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wake — a trail
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rock — a stone

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