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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. spell — letters
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. spell — magic
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. fall — the season
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. scale — size or range
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. scale — in music
  24. lash — to lash out

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