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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 120 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. hand — help
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pop — to visit
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. file — a tool
  13. bound — obliged
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pop — soda
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pop — music
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bound — certain
  23. content — happy
  24. tear — to rip

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