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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. face — to point toward
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. land — a country
  7. tear — to rip
  8. clip — a video
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. face — part of the head
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. land — to come down
  13. tear — from crying
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. land — ground
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. dip — to sink
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bat — the animal
  22. face — to confront
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. tear — from crying

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