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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. squash — to crush
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mark — a trace
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bound — obliged
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mark — a grade
  14. squash — the sport
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bound — certain
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tear — to rip
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. game — wild animals
  21. shower — rain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. lash — an eyelash

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