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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. land — to come down
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bat — the animal
  6. face — to confront
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. clip — a video
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pound — a weight
  15. land — a country
  16. tear — from crying
  17. land — ground
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. face — to point toward
  20. stock — goods
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. face — part of the head
  24. stock — shares

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