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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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. land — a country
  3. pop — soda
  4. land — to come down
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. key — the most important part
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pop — music
  9. row — to paddle
  10. key — in music
  11. scale — in music
  12. land — ground
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. pop — to visit
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. scale — size or range
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. key — for a lock
  22. row — a line
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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