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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. net — for catching
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. squash — to crush
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — after costs
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. sharp — clever
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. net — in sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pass — a permit
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. wound — an injury
  24. trunk — of a tree

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