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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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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. cell — in biology
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. file — a line of people
  9. lie — to recline
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. drill — army training
  13. cell — a phone
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. file — a document
  22. drill — the tool
  23. tube — the underground
  24. file — a 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