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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 water is too ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pit — a hole
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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