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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. fall — to drop
  3. game — a match
  4. tear — from crying
  5. track — a song
  6. tear — from crying
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mark — a grade
  12. track — to keep track
  13. fall — the season
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mark — a trace
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. clip — a video
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. track — a path
  24. wave — of the sea

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