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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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. spring — a coil
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cap — of ice
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. chair — a leader
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. chair — to sit on

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