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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. tear — from crying
  3. suit — in cards
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. snap — to click
  10. file — a line of people
  11. chair — a leader
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. suit — clothes
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. suit — to fit
  19. date — the fruit
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. lash — an eyelash

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