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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — a box
  3. sharp — clever
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. race — the arms race
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. dip — to sink
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. ball — a great time
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. race — humankind
  20. wind — moving air
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. ball — a dance
  23. swing — to play on
  24. race — a contest

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