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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 120 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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. chest — a box
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. cold — an illness
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. tube — the underground
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. tube — a container
  22. kick — in football
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. mouse — the animal

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