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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. deal — to handle
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. roll — a cake
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pit — a hole
  14. roll — a list
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cell — in a prison
  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