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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. tear — to rip
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cell — in biology
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. spring — of water
  10. bat — the animal
  11. net — after costs
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. spring — the season
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. cell — a phone
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. tear — from crying
  20. spring — a coil
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. tear — from crying

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