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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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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tear — from crying
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. court — of a king
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. court — for sport
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. lie — to recline
  14. hand — help
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. court — of law
  17. tear — to rip
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tear — from crying
  22. sharp — clever
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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