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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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468
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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. tear — to rip
  4. squash — the sport
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. file — a document
  7. scale — in music
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. file — a tool
  10. march — the month
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bark — to shout
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. file — a line of people
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tube — a container
  22. march — music
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. march — the month

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