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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 do anything ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. object — an aim
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. chair — a leader
  5. object — to protest
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. object — a thing
  9. content — happy
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. content — the amount
  17. cold — not warm
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. rash — a series

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