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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. row — a line
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. firm — steady
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. firm — decided
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. firm — a company
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — money
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wind — moving air
  23. hand — in cards
  24. capital — a city

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