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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 120 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. scale — in music
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. chair — a leader
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. press — to push
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bark — to shout
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. tear — to rip
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. press — a publisher
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. scale — size or range

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