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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. deal — to handle
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bass — the fish
  11. court — of law
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bass — low music
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. deal — a big deal

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