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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — the animal
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. present — a gift
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bound — obliged
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bound — certain
  13. tear — from crying
  14. snap — to click
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bound — tied together
  19. present — the time now
  20. bark — to shout
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. present — there
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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