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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. mate — a friend
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spell — a short time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. sharp — clever
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. mate — a partner
  11. ball — a dance
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. hand — help
  17. spell — letters
  18. mate — to breed
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spell — magic
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. ball — a great time

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