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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. last — final
  3. object — an aim
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. object — to protest
  6. last — finally
  7. cue — for pool
  8. pop — music
  9. row — a line
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cue — a signal
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cue — a hint
  14. pop — soda
  15. row — to paddle
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. last — to go on
  18. file — a tool
  19. pop — to visit
  20. season — in sport
  21. object — a thing
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. season — of the year
  24. file — a document

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