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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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Word bank
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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cue — a signal
  7. fork — in a road
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rush — hurry
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cue — for pool
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. fork — a garden tool

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