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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. object — to protest
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wake — a trail
  9. row — a line
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. ball — a great time
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. object — an aim
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. object — a thing
  24. hand — part of the body

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