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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — a face
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mug — to rob
  13. rock — a stone
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. scale — in music
  16. march — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rock — music
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cold — not warm
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. bat — for baseball

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