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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. pop — to visit
  8. squash — the sport
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chair — a leader
  11. squash — to crush
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pop — music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. row — a line
  20. pop — soda
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  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