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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. ball — a great time
  4. rush — hurry
  5. land — a country
  6. bank — of a river
  7. last — to go on
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — for dancing
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bank — for money
  12. club — a group
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. file — a tool
  15. bank — for money
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. land — ground
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. land — to come down
  22. file — a document
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. file — a line of people

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