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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cell — a phone
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. lie — to recline
  13. kid — child
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spring — the season
  17. chip — for betting
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spring — a coil
  20. snap — to click
  21. cell — in biology
  22. march — the month
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. lie — an untruth

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