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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. shower — to wash
  4. spring — of water
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fall — the season
  7. ground — the earth
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. ground — a position
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. spring — the season
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. shower — rain
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. fork — in a road
  19. ground — crushed
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — a series
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. fall — to drop

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