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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lie — to recline
  3. saw — the tool
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kick — in football
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. scale — in music
  12. band — a ring
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. scale — size or range
  16. tear — from crying
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. band — a music group

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