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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 120 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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. net — in sport
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. net — after costs
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. shower — to wash
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. shower — rain
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. plane — a tool
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. net — for catching
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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