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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cold — not warm
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. board — a committee
  9. rash — a series
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. game — a match
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rash — hasty
  21. hand — in cards
  22. board — to get on
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — an eyelash

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