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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fall — to drop
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chip — to eat
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. tear — to rip
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. row — a line

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