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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pop — music
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. root — of a word
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fall — the season
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pop — soda
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. root — the cause
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pop — to visit
  24. chair — a professorship

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