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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. mine — for digging
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. land — ground
  14. ball — a dance
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bulb — for light
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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