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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. court — of a king
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chest — of your body
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chest — a box
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. court — of law
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bat — the animal
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. court — for sport
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. chest — of your body
  23. prune — to trim
  24. squash — the sport

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