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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. drill — the tool
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. key — in music
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. mate — a friend
  8. key — for a lock
  9. net — after costs
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. key — the most important part
  14. rash — a series
  15. mate — to breed
  16. rash — hasty
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. net — in sport
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. net — for catching
  24. lash — an eyelash

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