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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wind — moving air
  3. track — to keep track
  4. march — the month
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. march — music
  8. kid — child
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wind — moving air
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. last — to go on
  16. kid — to tease
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. track — a song
  20. hand — help
  21. last — finally
  22. track — a path
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. last — final

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