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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. current — electric
  5. net — in sport
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. net — after costs
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. current — of water
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. current — happening now
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. net — for catching
  24. lash — an eyelash

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