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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. tear — to rip
  4. can — a tin
  5. chest — a box
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. can — to be able to
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. can — a tin
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. chest — of your body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — in a race
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. branch — a division
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pit — a hole

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