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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. face — part of the head
  6. clip — a video
  7. tear — from crying
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rush — hurry
  16. root — of a plant
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. tear — to rip
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. face — to confront
  21. tear — from crying
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. face — to point toward

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