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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mine — for digging
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. face — part of the head
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. hand — help
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wind — moving air
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. mine — belonging to me

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