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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. court — of a king
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cold — an illness
  13. court — for sport
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. spell — letters
  17. court — of law
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spell — magic
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. spell — a short time
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — to lash out

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