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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. ball — a dance
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. lie — to recline
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cap — a hat
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. game — a match
  18. cap — a lid
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. drill — a practice
  21. snap — to click
  22. drill — army training
  23. cap — of ice
  24. lie — an untruth

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