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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cold — an illness
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cold — not warm
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rest — a break
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bound — obliged
  20. net — for catching
  21. bound — certain
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. hand — help

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