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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pass — a permit
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. spring — the season
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. spring — a coil
  15. land — ground
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. spring — of water
  23. mine — for digging
  24. stem — of a plant

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