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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. object — to protest
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — high quality
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. object — a thing
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. object — an aim
  23. fine — all right
  24. spell — letters

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