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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. fine — all right
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — high quality
  12. rash — a series
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. wind — moving air
  15. squash — to crush
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lean — thin
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. squash — the sport
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cold — the Cold War

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