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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rash — a series
  4. swing — to play on
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. land — ground
  7. swing — in golf
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. swing — music
  10. bat — the animal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. file — a tool
  13. game — wild animals
  14. press — to push
  15. file — a document
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. press — a publisher
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. press — newspapers
  22. file — a line of people
  23. game — a match
  24. rash — hasty

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