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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. shower — to wash
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spring — the season
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. craft — boats
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. net — after costs
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. net — in sport
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. net — for catching
  20. spring — a coil
  21. craft — a skill
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. spring — of water

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