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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. row — a line
  7. wake — a trail
  8. row — to paddle
  9. file — a line of people
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. file — a document
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. board — to get on
  17. file — a tool
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. board — a committee
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. deal — a big deal

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