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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. tear — to rip
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. clip — a video
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. sharp — clever
  18. tear — from crying

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