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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 ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bass — the fish
  5. squash — the sport
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. snap — to click
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tear — from crying
  17. foot — a measure
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bass — low music
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. squash — to crush
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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