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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rest — what's left
  3. race — humankind
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hand — in cards
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. hand — help
  10. game — a match
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. tube — a container
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. fall — the season
  21. rest — a break
  22. race — a contest
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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