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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. object — an aim
  6. fine — all right
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cold — an illness
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. object — a thing
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. sharp — clever
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. pitch — completely
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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