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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. staff — a stick
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bass — low music
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — an illness
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bass — the fish
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. staff — employees
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. staff — employees
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. patient — a sick person

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