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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. cell — a phone
  6. net — after costs
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. tear — from crying
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. net — for catching
  12. cell — in biology
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. net — in sport
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stand — to bear
  24. tear — to rip

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