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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cap — a hat
  4. hand — in cards
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bank — for money
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bank — for money
  12. net — after costs
  13. bank — of a river
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. hand — help
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cap — a lid
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. bat — for baseball

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