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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — to protest
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. tear — to rip
  10. spring — of water
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tear — from crying
  16. club — a group
  17. object — an aim
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. spring — the season
  21. rash — a series
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — on the skin

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