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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 116 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cue — a signal
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. race — humankind
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bound — certain
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bound — obliged
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. field — for sport
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cue — a hint
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. cue — for pool
  18. field — a subject
  19. hand — help
  20. field — farmland
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. race — a contest

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