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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. object — an aim
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. lean — to bend
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. hand — in cards
  9. stem — to come from
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. hand — help
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. band — a ring
  15. object — a thing
  16. cold — not warm
  17. object — to protest
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. row — a line
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cold — an illness

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