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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kick — in football
  5. spring — the season
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spring — a coil
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. spring — of water
  19. board — to get on
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lean — thin
  22. foot — a measure
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. board — a committee

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