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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 120 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. march — the month
  4. fall — the season
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rock — music
  9. dip — to sink
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. fall — to drop
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. rock — a stone
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. march — the month
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. march — music
  23. spring — the season
  24. wake — a trail

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