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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fall — the season
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — a position
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. chest — a box
  16. press — to push
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. rash — a series
  24. fall — to drop

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