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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. squash — to crush
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. band — a music group
  12. craft — boats
  13. band — a ring
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. craft — a skill
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. coach — a trainer

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