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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. swing — in golf
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. squash — to crush
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. squash — the sport
  10. rash — a series
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. kick — in football
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cell — in biology
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. rash — hasty
  23. swing — music
  24. kick — with a leg

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