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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mug — a face
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. last — finally
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. squash — the sport
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. last — final
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fall — to drop
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. last — to go on
  24. mug — to rob

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