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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 116 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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hand — help
  4. pitch — completely
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. hand — in cards
  9. net — in sport
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. net — after costs
  13. spring — the season
  14. wind — moving air
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — a thing
  18. spring — of water
  19. net — for catching
  20. wind — moving air
  21. plane — a tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. object — an aim

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