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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. saw — the tool
  10. kick — in football
  11. chest — of your body
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bulb — for light
  17. chest — a box
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bulb — for light
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. wind — moving air

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