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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fine — all right
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. tear — from crying
  14. row — a line
  15. bat — the animal
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. row — to paddle
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. row — a quarrel

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