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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 116 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pass — a permit
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. march — music
  9. firm — steady
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. kid — child
  12. march — the month
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cold — an illness
  15. firm — decided
  16. row — a line
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. cold — not warm
  20. row — to paddle
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. kid — to tease

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