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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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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. fine — high quality
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cold — an illness
  8. last — final
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bank — of a river
  15. fine — all right
  16. snap — to click
  17. cold — not warm
  18. last — to go on
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. last — finally
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. pitcher — a jug

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