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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. squash — the sport
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. track — to keep track
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. prune — to trim
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. track — a path
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bound — certain
  18. tear — from crying
  19. track — a song
  20. bound — tied together
  21. tear — from crying
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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