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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 124 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. present — a gift
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. scale — in music
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. snap — to click
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. scale — size or range
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. mug — a cup
  21. row — a line
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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