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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. hand — in cards
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — a thing
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mine — for digging
  11. hand — help
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. object — to protest
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. mine — an explosive

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