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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 116 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wind — moving air
  10. drill — army training
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. tear — to rip
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wake — a trail
  20. tear — from crying
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. drill — the tool
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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