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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: lash · row · key · object · net · cold · dip · rule

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cold — not warm
  3. row — a line
  4. net — after costs
  5. key — the most important part
  6. net — in sport
  7. object — to protest
  8. cold — an illness
  9. key — for a lock
  10. object — an aim
  11. net — for catching
  12. rule — government
  13. object — a thing
  14. rule — a law
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. key — in music
  17. row — to paddle
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. dip — a sauce

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