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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a match
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. court — for sport
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — of a king
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. court — of law
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wind — to turn a key

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