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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. mate — a friend
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. net — in sport
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. net — after costs
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. chair — a leader
  24. mate — to breed

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