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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. spring — of water
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. rule — government
  8. drill — a practice
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rule — a law
  11. can — a tin
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. can — to be able to
  14. spring — a coil
  15. scale — size or range
  16. drill — army training
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spring — the season
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. can — a tin
  22. shower — rain
  23. snap — to click
  24. drill — the tool

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