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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. race — the arms race
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pop — soda
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. race — a contest
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fall — the season
  18. capital — money
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pop — to visit
  21. race — humankind
  22. row — a line
  23. capital — a city
  24. pop — music

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