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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lie — to recline
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wake — a trail
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. season — in sport
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. row — to paddle
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. row — a line
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. season — of the year
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. tear — from crying

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