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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mate — a friend
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. mate — a partner
  14. field — farmland
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. chest — a box
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. chest — of your body
  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