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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 124 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. hand — help
  4. wound — an injury
  5. present — there
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chest — a box
  8. race — the arms race
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. wound — an injury
  11. present — a gift
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. present — the time now
  15. row — to paddle
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. tear — to rip

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