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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rush — hurry
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. squash — the sport
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. race — a contest
  10. squash — to crush
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. race — humankind
  20. tear — to rip
  21. race — the arms race
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mate — a partner

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