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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. cold — not warm
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. spell — magic
  14. pop — to visit
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. band — a ring
  17. pop — music
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. band — a music group
  20. spell — letters
  21. pop — soda
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. spell — a short time
  24. fine — all right

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