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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. can — a tin
  5. file — a document
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pop — soda
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — a phone
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pit — in a race
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. pop — music
  17. pit — a hole
  18. file — a tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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