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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. squash — to crush
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. kid — child
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. scale — in music
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. kid — to tease
  16. scale — size or range
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. row — to paddle
  22. squash — the sport
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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