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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. game — wild animals
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cold — not warm
  10. scale — in music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. scale — size or range
  15. game — a match
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. kid — child
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. squash — to crush
  20. kid — to tease
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. squash — the sport
  24. scale — for weighing

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