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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rest — a break
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rest — what's left
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. stem — to come from
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stem — a stem cell

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