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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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468
Word bank
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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. band — a ring
  6. root — of a word
  7. spell — a short time
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. saw — the tool
  11. root — the cause
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spell — magic
  14. wound — an injury
  15. band — a music group
  16. spell — letters
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. root — of a plant
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — an illness

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