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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wind — moving air
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. track — a song
  7. last — to go on
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. row — a line
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. last — final
  19. track — to keep track
  20. last — finally
  21. track — a path
  22. lie — to recline
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — to paddle

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