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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. mug — a cup
  5. drill — the tool
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. mug — a face
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. drill — army training
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. prune — to trim
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. snap — to click
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mug — to rob

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