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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. scale — size or range
  3. file — a document
  4. object — an aim
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rash — hasty
  7. object — to protest
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rash — a series
  12. object — a thing
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. swing — in golf
  16. file — a line of people
  17. swing — to play on
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. file — a tool
  22. swing — music
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. scale — in music

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