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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. can — to be able to
  3. kid — child
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bass — the fish
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ball — a great time
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ball — a dance
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wind — moving air
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. spell — magic
  17. can — a tin
  18. kid — to tease
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. spell — letters
  22. bass — low music
  23. can — a tin
  24. wind — to turn a key

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