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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. fall — the season
  3. cold — not warm
  4. charge — a price
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. fall — to drop
  9. file — a tool
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. charge — in control
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. kick — in football
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. charge — electricity
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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