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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · lash · track · fine · cold · chip · mark · pitcher

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. mark — a grade
  4. cold — an illness
  5. track — to keep track
  6. chip — to eat
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. track — a path
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. track — a song
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. chip — for betting
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. mark — a trace
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. pitcher — a jug

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