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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. ground — crushed
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. ground — a position
  11. swing — music
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. ground — the earth
  17. swing — in golf
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. swing — to play on
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young 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