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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. kick — in football
  3. clip — to cut
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rash — hasty
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spell — letters
  11. tear — from crying
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. spell — magic
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. rash — a series

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