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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. track — a song
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. squash — to crush
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. squash — the sport
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. can — a tin
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. kid — child
  16. tear — from crying
  17. can — to be able to
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. tear — to rip
  20. present — the time now
  21. can — a tin
  22. present — there
  23. present — a gift
  24. lash — to lash out

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