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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. spell — a short time
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spell — magic
  15. date — the fruit
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spell — letters
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. file — a tool
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  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