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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 116 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. spring — the season
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. spring — of water
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stock — goods
  9. snap — to click
  10. last — finally
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. last — to go on
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. last — final
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bat — the animal
  22. spring — a coil
  23. stock — shares
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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