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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: pit · lash · bay · spell · cap · patient · mine · cold

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. spell — letters
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pit — a hole
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. pit — in a race
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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