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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hand — help
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cap — of ice
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cap — a lid
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. firm — steady
  14. hand — in cards
  15. last — to go on
  16. firm — decided
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. last — finally
  21. firm — a company
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mine — for digging

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