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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. spell — a short time
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. can — a tin
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spell — magic
  11. bound — tied together
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. march — music
  15. bound — certain
  16. march — the month
  17. can — a tin
  18. snap — to click
  19. bound — obliged
  20. spell — letters
  21. tear — to rip
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. march — the month
  24. tear — from crying

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