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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cold — not warm
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. fork — in a road
  9. can — a tin
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cold — an illness
  14. kid — child
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. spell — letters
  17. can — to be able to
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spell — magic
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spell — a short time
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. net — for catching

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