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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. staff — employees
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bat — the animal
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cold — an illness
  15. last — final
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. staff — employees
  18. last — to go on
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. staff — a stick
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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