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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 water is too ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. snap — to click
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. game — a match
  9. branch — a division
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. racket — for tennis

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