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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. lash — to lash out
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — a series
  4. shower — to wash
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cold — not warm
  8. court — of law
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cue — a signal
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cue — a hint
  17. fine — high quality
  18. cue — for pool
  19. fine — all right
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  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