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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. game — a match
  4. scale — size or range
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. spell — letters
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. spell — magic
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — wild animals
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. scale — in music
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. calf — a young animal

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