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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. net — for catching
  3. chair — a leader
  4. craft — boats
  5. net — in sport
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. prune — to trim
  17. craft — a skill
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cue — a signal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cue — for pool
  24. net — after costs

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