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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bass — the fish
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. land — to come down
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. land — ground
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. land — a country
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bass — low music
  22. court — of law
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. mouse — for a computer

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