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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. tear — to rip
  5. stock — shares
  6. tear — from crying
  7. squash — to crush
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. squash — the sport
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. stock — goods
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. season — in sport

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