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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. object — to protest
  4. spring — of water
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. spring — the season
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rash — hasty
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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