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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pit — in a race
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cold — not warm
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — in music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pit — a hole
  22. rush — hurry
  23. mark — a trace
  24. cold — the Cold War

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