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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chest — a box
  3. cap — a lid
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. file — a document
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wake — a trail
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cap — of ice
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. file — a tool
  18. cap — a hat
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cold — an illness
  22. chest — of your body
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. chip — for betting

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