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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. rush — hurry
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. saw — the tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — help
  16. row — a line
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. row — to paddle
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rush — to hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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