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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. drill — army training
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. scale — size or range
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. rock — music
  14. craft — boats
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. drill — the tool
  17. game — a match
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. craft — a skill
  22. drill — a practice
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rock — a stone

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