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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pound — a weight
  7. rule — government
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — the cause
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. root — of a plant
  19. sharp — clever
  20. root — of a word
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. sharp — exactly

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