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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. row — to paddle
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. drill — a practice
  5. row — a line
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. tear — to rip
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tear — from crying
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. clip — a video
  21. shower — rain
  22. tear — from crying
  23. date — the fruit
  24. hide — to keep secret

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