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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. face — to point toward
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. row — a line
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. face — part of the head
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spring — the season
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. face — to confront
  16. object — to protest
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — an aim
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. spring — a coil
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. spring — of water

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