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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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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: lash · cell · rash · file · row · pitch · firm · fall

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — hasty
  3. firm — steady
  4. file — a line of people
  5. firm — decided
  6. pitch — completely
  7. fall — the season
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cell — a phone
  11. rash — a series
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. fall — to drop
  15. file — a document
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. fall — to drop
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cell — in biology
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. file — a tool
  22. row — a line
  23. firm — a company
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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