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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cap — of ice
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. pit — a hole
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. plane — a tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. rest — a break
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chest — of your body

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