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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pop — soda
  4. rest — what's left
  5. net — after costs
  6. last — final
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — in a race
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pop — to visit
  15. last — finally
  16. net — for catching
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rest — a break
  21. pop — music
  22. last — to go on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lash — to lash out

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