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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. mate — a partner
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. last — final
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chest — a box
  13. mate — a friend
  14. rash — a series
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mate — to breed
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rash — hasty
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. nail — on a finger
  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