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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to click
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. land — to come down
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. swing — in golf
  16. land — ground
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. land — a country
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. swing — music
  24. lie — an untruth

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