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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. suit — to fit
  4. band — a music group
  5. suit — in cards
  6. rash — hasty
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. land — ground
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. spell — letters
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. land — to come down
  15. rash — a series
  16. band — a ring
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. land — a country
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spell — a short time
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. spell — magic
  23. suit — clothes
  24. stem — to come from

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