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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cold — not warm
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. ground — crushed
  7. spell — a short time
  8. object — to protest
  9. spell — magic
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. squash — the sport
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lie — to recline
  18. object — an aim
  19. ground — the earth
  20. object — a thing
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. squash — to crush
  23. spell — letters
  24. ground — a position

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