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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: row · nail · mate · lie · lash · ground · pitcher · spring

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. ground — crushed
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ground — the earth
  6. spring — the season
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. mate — a friend
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. row — a line
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. row — to paddle
  17. spring — a coil
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mate — to breed
  22. ground — a position
  23. spring — of water
  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