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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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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: cold · wake · lash · cell · pitcher · chair · hide · net

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wake — a trail
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. net — after costs
  24. lash — to lash out

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