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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chip — for betting
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. hand — in cards
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cell — a phone
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. hand — help
  18. wake — a trail
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cell — in biology
  24. snap — to click

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