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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. current — of water
  3. bore — to tire
  4. current — happening now
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mark — a trace
  16. row — a line
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mark — a grade
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wound — an injury
  23. current — electric
  24. bore — to drill

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