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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 120 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 seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. track — a path
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. scale — in music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. spring — a coil
  10. kick — in football
  11. bat — the animal
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. track — to keep track
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. track — a song
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

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