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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: pitcher · fan · cold · row · lash · fine · ball · season

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ball — a dance
  3. fine — all right
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. row — to paddle
  6. fine — high quality
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. row — a line
  13. ball — a great time
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. season — of the year
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. season — in sport

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