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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. last — to go on
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. row — a line
  9. net — for catching
  10. last — final
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. net — after costs
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. last — finally
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. game — wild animals
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hand — help
  20. row — to paddle
  21. tear — from crying
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. net — in sport
  24. game — a match

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