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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. spring — a coil
  3. plane — a tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a music group
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. spring — of water
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. tear — from crying
  10. band — a ring
  11. cap — a hat
  12. tear — to rip
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a lid
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spring — the season
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. land — to come down
  24. plane — an aircraft

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