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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bound — certain
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. race — a contest
  9. bound — obliged
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kick — in football
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. bound — tied together
  24. hide — animal skin

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