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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a great time
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. game — wild animals
  7. face — part of the head
  8. file — a tool
  9. pit — a hole
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pit — in a race
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. face — to confront
  15. row — to paddle
  16. game — a match
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. foot — a measure
  19. ball — a dance
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. row — a line
  24. foot — part of the body

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