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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. ball — a great time
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. kid — to tease
  10. can — a tin
  11. snap — to click
  12. tube — a container
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. tube — the underground
  20. kid — child
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

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