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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. rush — hurry
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mug — a cup
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — to rob
  23. wake — a trail
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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