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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. swing — music
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. tear — from crying
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. cap — a lid
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cap — a hat
  12. wound — an injury
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cap — of ice
  20. swing — in golf
  21. tear — to rip
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. wound — an injury

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