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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. land — a country
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rush — hurry
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. land — to come down
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. chest — a box
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pop — music
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. land — ground
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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