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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. hand — help
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. swing — music
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. track — a path
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. swing — in golf
  16. ground — the earth
  17. track — a song
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tear — from crying
  20. swing — to play on
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. hand — in cards
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wind — moving air

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