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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — in a race
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. march — the month
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pit — a hole
  10. fine — high quality
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. chest — a box
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. capital — a city
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. capital — money
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fine — all right
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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