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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. spell — a short time
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bass — low music
  5. squash — the sport
  6. spell — magic
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. chest — of your body
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. squash — to crush
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. chest — a box
  17. spell — letters
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. chest — of your body
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. hand — help
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. bass — the fish

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