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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: mate · rush · land · pound · cold · toast · craft · lash

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rush — hurry
  10. pound — a weight
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. land — a country
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. cold — not warm
  22. craft — a skill
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — bread

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