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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. cold — not warm
  5. plane — a tool
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. march — the month
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. wake — a trail
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cold — an illness

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