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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. lean — to bend
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. land — to come down
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mine — an explosive

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