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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pop — soda
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bound — obliged
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bound — tied together
  12. chest — of your body
  13. date — the fruit
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. chest — a box
  18. pop — to visit
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. pop — music
  22. kick — in football
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bound — certain

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